A City in the Forest Review: A Gripping Documentary
A City in the Forest Review: A Gripping Documentary That Puts You on the Front Lines
A City in the Forest, is a gripping documentary taking viewers inside Atlanta’s controversial Cop City protests.
An Atlanta forest, a controversial police training facility, and a community determined to be heard. A City in the Forest is a remarkable documentary that drops audiences into the middle of a confrontation with devastating consequences.
Some documentaries explain a conflict. Others take you directly into the middle of it and let you experience the fear, tension, and uncertainty for yourself.
A City in the Forest, directed by Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber, belongs firmly in that second category.
Screening at the 2026 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, this gripping film follows the fight over Atlanta’s controversial police training facility, widely known by opponents as “Cop City.”
What begins as a dispute over the destruction of an urban forest becomes a much larger confrontation involving police, protesters, political power, and the question of who gets to decide what happens to a community.
And the filmmakers don’t simply explain what happened.
They put you right in the middle of it.
The result is some remarkable documentary filmmaking, both in terms of access and the sheer intensity of what we’re watching.
When a City Decides to Build Cop City
The story takes us to Atlanta, where the city announces plans for a massive police and emergency services training facility.
The proposed development would occupy part of the Weelaunee Forest, an urban green space that activists and nearby residents have fought to protect.
Opponents raise concerns about the environmental consequences, police militarization, and the role of private funding in shaping public decisions.
For many of the people featured in the documentary, the central question is painfully straightforward.
Who is the city actually listening to?
The officials who support the project argue that Atlanta needs improved training facilities for public safety personnel. Opponents see a costly development moving forward despite intense community resistance.
That clash becomes the foundation for everything that follows.
Protesters organize, establish encampments in the forest, and attempt to prevent construction from moving ahead.
And gradually, what began as a local dispute becomes something much more volatile.
A Documentary That Feels Like a Siege Film
Here’s what makes A City in the Forest such an extraordinary viewing experience.
Omelchenko and Huber have managed to capture events from inside the protest movement, giving audiences a level of access that feels almost impossible at times.
We’re there with the people living in the forest.
We’re there as they prepare for confrontations.
And we’re there as police move in to remove protesters from the land.
The filmmaking has a remarkable immediacy.
This isn’t a documentary built around a series of carefully arranged interviews, with experts explaining events from the comfort of a studio.
It’s unfolding right in front of you.
There are sequences that play almost like a siege movie, with people attempting to hold their positions against increasingly overwhelming forces.
Heavy machinery, police operations, and the physical struggle over control of the forest become part of an intensely cinematic experience.
You feel the tension because the cameras are right there.
And that kind of access makes an enormous difference.
The Death of Tortuguita Changes Everything
The conflict takes a devastating turn with the death of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, an environmental activist known as Tortuguita.
In January 2023, Georgia state troopers fatally shot Terán during a law enforcement operation at the forest.
The DeKalb County medical examiner documented at least 57 gunshot wounds.
The circumstances of the shooting became the subject of intense public dispute. State investigators concluded that Terán fired at and wounded a trooper before officers returned fire. Terán’s family challenged the official account, citing findings from an independent autopsy.
A special prosecutor subsequently determined that the officers’ use of deadly force was legally justified and declined to bring criminal charges.
For the movement portrayed in the film, Terán’s death becomes a defining moment.
The struggle is no longer solely about the future of a forest or a training facility.
Grief, outrage, and demands for accountability now shape the movement and its relationship with the authorities.
It’s a deeply troubling chapter in the documentary.
And watching the events unfold from such close proximity gives them an emotional force that a conventional news report cannot easily replicate.
Whose Version of the Story Do We Believe?
Another fascinating aspect of A City in the Forest is its examination of how information reaches the public.
The filmmakers contrast the experiences of people on the ground with the way events are presented through television news coverage.
And those differences can be startling.
The film raises serious questions about how major news organizations frame protests, how much context gets left out, and whose voices ultimately shape the public’s understanding of a confrontation.
John’s own reaction to the film’s treatment of outlets such as Democracy Now! and local television news was particularly strong.
Watching the different accounts placed against the filmmakers’ footage invites viewers to consider the choices being made in newsrooms.
What images are selected? Which sources are given authority? What information gets emphasized?
Those editorial decisions can dramatically shape how an event is understood.
The film doesn’t merely ask audiences to consider what happened in Atlanta.
It also challenges them to think about how they came to believe what they know.
That’s a fascinating additional layer to an already powerful story.
A Warning That Reaches Far Beyond Atlanta
I wouldn’t necessarily describe A City in the Forest as a call-to-action documentary.
Certainly, it contains material that may inspire viewers to become more involved in their own communities.
But I think there’s a better way to describe it.
This is a canary-in-the-coal-mine movie.
What we see in Atlanta speaks to concerns that are emerging in communities across the country.
Major developments are proposed. Public officials announce their plans. Businesses and institutions advocate for projects they believe are necessary.
And residents begin asking whether their voices will matter in the final decision.
We’re seeing similar questions raised around the construction of massive data centers and controversial federal detention facilities.
The circumstances differ, of course. But the underlying tension between institutional power, local opposition, and public accountability can feel remarkably familiar.
A City in the Forest offers a visceral look at how one such confrontation developed, how it escalated, and the profound consequences that followed.
That gives the documentary significance well beyond Atlanta.
A City in the Forest Review: Remarkable Filmmaking That Demands Attention
What impressed me most about A City in the Forest is just how effectively the filmmakers place their audience inside the experience.
This is serious material, and some of it is deeply disturbing.
But Omelchenko and Huber have created a documentary that is compelling as cinema, not simply as a record of political conflict.
The access is extraordinary. The tension is palpable. And the film consistently reminds us that the people involved are facing consequences that extend far beyond a policy debate.
It also offers something essential for anyone who wants to understand the power of documentary filmmaking.
There are stories you can tell through interviews and archival records.
And then there are stories that gain an entirely different force when filmmakers are present as history unfolds.
A City in the Forest is one of those films.
It’s gripping, urgent, and exceptionally well filmed.
And perhaps most importantly, it leaves you with questions that don’t disappear when the credits roll.
A big recommendation from me.
A City in the Forest: Film Details
- Title: A City in the Forest (2026)
- Directors: Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber
- Writers: Lev Omelchenko, Nolan Huber, Ike Rofé, and Emily Yue
- Genre: Documentary
- Runtime: Approximately 99 minutes
- World premiere: Sheffield DocFest, June 2026
- Festival screening: Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, October 15, 2026
- Subject: The movement opposing Atlanta’s police training facility in the Weelaunee Forest
Frequently Asked Questions
What is A City in the Forest about?
The documentary follows activists opposing the construction of Atlanta’s police training facility, commonly called Cop City. It documents the struggle over the Weelaunee Forest and the confrontation between protesters and law enforcement.
Who directed A City in the Forest?
Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber directed the film. Both are also credited as cinematographers, contributing to the documentary’s immersive visual approach.
What is Cop City in Atlanta?
Cop City is the name opponents gave Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center, a major facility designed for police and other emergency services training.
Who was Tortuguita?
Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, was an environmental activist fatally shot by Georgia state troopers during a January 2023 operation at the forest. The circumstances of the shooting became a major point of dispute between authorities and the activist’s family.
Where did A City in the Forest premiere?
The documentary premiered at Sheffield DocFest in June 2026 and later screened at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October 2026.