"Earth Defender" Brings Indigenous Voices to the Forefront at HollyShorts - League of Filmmakers
League of Filmmakers has released a feature on Earth Defender as part of Hollyshorts Film Festival 2025.
The article features a Q&A portion with co-directors Sil van der Woerd and Jorik Dozy.
Some snippets from the interview below:
Q: What drew you to make this film? Why this story, and why now?
A: For over a decade, we (Sil & Jorik) worked in the entertainment industry before dedicating our skills to telling urgent stories for our planet. In 2019, we founded Studio Birthplace to focus exclusively on pro-planet storytelling. We realized one crucial voice was missing: Indigenous peoples. They safeguard 80% of the planet's biodiversity, yet every 48 hours, an Earth defender is killed or goes missing globally. With the climate crisis escalating, we felt an urgent responsibility to tell their story now, to help protect the protectors.
Q: What does it mean to you to have your film selected for HollyShorts?
A: HollyShorts is an opportunity to share an urgent story with new audiences. The resilience of Indigenous peoples must be heard worldwide. On a personal level, it’s coming full circle. We met in Hollywood in 2008 while studying visual effects and dreamed our work would be shown at the Chinese Theatre. To now return with this film, in the very place our filmmaking journey began, is simply amazing.
League of Filmmakers operate as a digital trade publication and professional network, offering editorial opportunities, shared resources, and strategic partnerships to help independent creators grow.
Learn more:
Read the full feature here.
