CLEAR-CUT
Saving one iconic tree uncovers a much bigger story.
When filmmaker Andrew Kaineder learns that the forest surrounding Big Spotty - the world’s tallest known Spotted Gum - is scheduled for logging after the Black Summer fires, he goes looking for answers.
What begins as a local campaign becomes a journey through the forests of New South Wales, revealing the people, wildlife and places caught up in native forest logging.
Part eco-adventure, part stumped-satire, part forest ecology for dummies.
A short documentary by Andrew Kaineder. A Stitch Films production.
Artist: Em Reid
Clear-Cut — the world’s tallest known spotted gum, and the fight to protect its forest.
One man, one tree, and a forest on borrowed time
Andy Kaineder has lived his whole life with the bush as his backyard, ignorantly assuming it was protected. After the Black Summer fires, he learns that the forest around Big Spotty, the tallest known Spotted Gum in the world, is marked for logging. He goes looking for an explanation and discovers a tangle of answers, none of them clear.
What begins as an obsession with Big Spotty becomes an investigation into the forests of New South Wales. Along the way, he meets people whose passion for the cause inspires him to dig deeper. With a five-year-old son at home, one question weighs heaviest: what will still be standing when his boy is grown?
Part eco-adventure, part stumped satire, Clear-Cut follows Andy down a rabbit hole with roots.
Directed by Andy Kaineder ·
Written by Andy Kaineder & Elle Lawson ·
A Stitch Films production
Watch the trailer.
See it together.
Want to bring the film to your community?
Enquire about hosting a screening ↗
Milton
Altar Wine Bar
Port Kembla
The Servo
Tathra
Headland Theatre
More screening details will be announced here.
Meet Big Spotty
The world’s tallest known Spotted Gum.
It stands in North Brooman State Forest on the South Coast of NSW - Yuin Country.
70.93 mHeight
11.7 mCircumference
500+Years oldBig Spotty was already centuries old when the first European ships sailed along this coast. It has weathered storms, droughts and fires because it has never stood alone. The trees around it break the wind and shade the ground, fungi thread its roots into the soil, and a closed canopy keeps the forest cool and damp. It is one part of a system that only thrives when it stays whole.
Today, Big Spotty sits within a 60-metre exclusion zone in Compartment 50A. A 644ha area scheduled for logging in 2027, severely threatening the health of this globally significant tree.
This means the forest that has kept it standing remains open to logging, severely threatening the health of this globally significant tree.
What can you do? ↗From the ground
to the canopy.
Getting to know a giant takes a team. A few moments from measuring, climbing and filming Big Spotty.
Explore The Tree Projects’ measurements ↗
Help this story
reach further.
Films open doors. Conversations keep them open. Support Clear-Cut, wear your love for Big Spotty, and help bring more people into the story.
Support the film through Documentary Australia. Visit the project page to learn more and make a contribution.
Donate via Documentary Australia ↗
The Big Spotty tee.
Artwork by Luke Player on a relaxed-fit blend of hemp and organic cotton. Off-white / sand, made for everyday adventures.
Big Spotty stickers.
Carry a little piece of the campaign. Designed by Luke Player.
Behind the camera · Andrew Kaineder
Close to home.
Impossible
to ignore.
Andrew grew up on the NSW South Coast, surrounded by forests he thought he knew. Learning what was happening beyond the familiar tracks changed the way he saw them.
Clear-Cut comes from that shift: from looking at a beautiful landscape to asking what is happening inside it—and who gets to decide its future.
We’re making this film to bring people closer to these places. Through curiosity, adventure and a little humour, we want to start a conversation that reaches beyond the people already having it.
Andrew Kaineder · Director & filmmaker
Stitch Films
What can
you do?
Start with a film. Stay for a conversation.
Find a way to be part of what comes next.
01 Bring someone to a screening
A friend, a neighbour, someone who sees things differently. Find a screening and make space for a conversation afterwards.
02 Keep asking questions
Get to know the forests near you. Learn about their ecology, who cares for them and how decisions about their future are made. Listen to Traditional Custodians, scientists and local communities.
03 Help the film travel
Share Clear-Cut, ask about hosting a screening, or support the film through Documentary Australia.
04 Stay connected
Join the mailing list for film and screening news, and follow @clearcut.film for more from the forest.
We acknowledge the Yuin people, the Traditional Custodians of the Country at the heart of this story, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We recognise the enduring connections between First Nations peoples, their lands, waters and forests.
Good things are growing.
Join the Clear-Cut mailing list for trailer news, new screenings and the next chapter of the film.
Back to Stitch Films ↗“It takes a wise man a lifetime to grow a tree, and a fool five minutes to kill one”.
-Gary Caldwell, Potato farmer
Big Spotty T
Designed by Luke Player.
Printed with eco inks by Softpower
Organic Cotton / Hemp T’s by Koa Goods.
Big Spotty stickers - SOLD OUT
Designed by Luke Player.
Impact goals
Permanent protection of North Brooman State Forest.
Provide visual evidence and data on what’s happening to our forests.
Educate the community on where the timber from our forests is going.
Highlight the failure to protect our unique and threatened species.
Advocate for the permanent protection of our native forests - Australia Wide.
Plug in to existing campaigns and organisations so the campaign can continue after the film release.
Acknowledgement of Country
This project will mainly take place on the country of the Dhurga language group known as Yuin.
We acknowledge and respect the people, the culture and the values of this land that has been nurtured by their ancestors for thousands of years so that we can learn and continue to support this practice - and walk together.
Our partners
