Doug's cabin

More than forty-five years ago, Doug, then just 20 years old, exchanged Vancouver for the desolate rainforest of San Josef Bay, Vancouver Island. He built his house on the foundations of a pioneer house, with the help of the last solitary forest dwellers. Doug found work as a carpenter on a military base near the lumberjack village of Holberg. The soldiers and their families formed a close community and Doug had his best years there. When the base closed after the Cold War and the buildings and remains would be burned, Doug decided to save what he could save. He traveled further into the woods with trucks full of small structures, books, photographs and utensils, and started San Josef Heritage Park & Campground. Everywhere on his primitive camping you will find remains of the radar base. They would all contribute to the transfer of history. But the forest slowly takes back the open space and campers rarely come. Doug gets old, he is losing the battle against the elements. "In 2010 Karianne Bueno met Doug on his campsite deep in the forests of Canada's Vancouver Island. Two years later she returned with her camera to document his life away from society. Doug built his cabin on the foundations of a pioneer's house and worked as a carpenter at a military radar station. To better understand Doug, Bueno immersed herself in the history so dear to him. Over time, her once tangible photography project about living away from society turned into a labyrinth of stories across multiple layers of time and reality. Through photos, diary fragments, and found footage, she takes us deeper into the forest, questioning if we actually have control over our lives." -- Vendor's website.