A City in the Forest

In 2021, in the wake of a racial reckoning in America, the city of Atlanta proposed the construction of a massive police training facility, known as “Cop City,” on 300 acres of urban forest southwest of downtown. Community members and activists quickly pushed back. This tense, vivid chronicle of the showdown between the people and the authorities follows a multi-year battle during which protestors occupied trees in massive acts of civil disobedience and organizers gathered signatures to block the project through legislative means.

Gripping and still timely, A City in the Forest uncovers a complex tangle of America’s most urgent social issues, from environmental and racial justice to police violence and political corruption, all colliding in one powder-keg moment in time. Filmmakers Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber use their extraordinary access to events on the ground to capture an insider’s view of indefatigable courage, tragedy, and resistance.