Plant Heist makes its world premiere at the SxSW Film Festival this year as a competitive short film in the Documentary category. It is an informative short that focuses on the smuggling of plants from the California coastline.
Synopsis: When suspicious packages are found in a small town in Northern California, Game Warden Pat Freeling gets a tip about the peculiar activity. After further investigation, he exposes a vast network of illegal poachers. These smugglers ravage the landscape as they poach thousands of native succulents, Dudleya farinosa. This small, unassuming plant carries a hefty bounty on its head internationally, where a single succulent boasts a price tag in the thousands. With the help of volunteers, native plant biologists, and local government, they fight to stop this ecological destruction.
If anything this story shines a light on the importance of our natural resources and the importance of stopping this sort of smuggling. I liked it. I found it intriguing, informative and well told.
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