How Pandemic Toilet Paper Hoarding Spurred Michael Zelniker to Make Deforestation Doc ‘The Issue With Tissue’
variety.comMichael Zelniker believes so. In his latest eco-doc endeavor “The Issue With Tissue – A Boreal Love Story,” Zelniker explores the effects of toilet paper manufacturing on Canada’s boreal forest region, which is chopped down yearly to supply the disposable yet highly relied-upon product.
The feature documentary focuses on the effects Boreal deforestation has on Indigenous populations and reveals some Canadian politicians’ one-sided view of the issue, who focus more on the prospects of labor opportunities from toilet paper production rather than its consequences on the country’s ecosystem.
The documentary posits these facts as inextricable, pointing to the toilet paper problem as one with multifaceted, long-lasting effects.
One subject of the film helps to sum this up, saying, “These are not environmental issues, these are existential issues.” In an interview with Variety, Zelniker explains that the inspiration behind “The Issue With Tissue” came at a unique time in history. “About a month into the pandemic, right around the time we were all hoarding toilet paper, I learned that these large intact old growth forest landscapes across the Boreal are being cut down for toilet paper,” Zelniker explains.
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