Join the Premiere
The 2024 FFF will premiere at Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon on December 12 at 7pm PST. A second live screening will take place December 15 at 3:30pm.
Watch At Home
The full program will be available to watch on demand from December 13, 2024 to January 13, 2025.
Host a Group Screening
Wanting to show the 2024 FFF to a group?
Group screening rentals are available from December 13, 2024 to April 14, 2025.
20 films | 17 countries | 2+ hours
Session A
Amanita (11:06) – Alexa Angeles, Carolina Revilla (Mexico)
Batrachia (6:47) – Lorenzo Silano (Italy)
Dead Bird (1:29) – Matthew Lei (USA)
Flora, Fauna, Funga (16:51) – Sam Sheline (Chile)
Fungi Forage (2:10) – Molly Brown, Cy Henty, Al Ronald (UK)
Gold of the Plateau (5:52) – Miriam Follin (China)
How to Film a Mushroom (20:14) – Lucas Gortemaker (Netherlands / Belgium / Germany)
Il Fungo di Albaredo (3:40) – Lennart Reichel (Italy)
Misteria del Bosque (Mystery of the Forest) (4:40) – Ger Killeen (USA)
MUSH (2:12) – Maya Zhelyazkova (Bulgaria)
Mushlings (3:53) – Magdalena Berezowska (Poland)
Mushrooms in Space (5:05) – Rosi Bundz (Germany)
Mycelium (3:21) – Heather Whelton (UK)
Mycoaudiology: The Lost Tapes (6:32) – Sebastian Fontey-huety (UK)
Psilocybin (2:50) – Alvaro Giraldo Mesones (Spain / Canada)
Rot (2:00) – Autojektor (UK)
Silverphae (3:02) – Hannah Read (USA)
The Mushroom Keepers (16:08) – Naveed Mulki (India)
Visions of the Fungicene (5:48) – Angel Salazar (Argentina)
Session B
If Camembert Were To Disappear Too... (28:07) – Francesca Barbieri (France)
Amanita
Alexa Angeles, Carolina Revilla
(Mexico)
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11:06 | Drama, Fantasy
Alba, Maydis and Judae are fungi like creatures that inhabit the big oak tree. For years they have served The Beast without ever attempting to confront him, until now... The arrival of the newest fungi member to their sisterhood will make them question the authority of The Beast. They dream of freedom but the road to get it wont be easy to take.
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Carolina Revilla: Graduated from cinema and T.V. debuted with Amanita as a director. She's also an editor and producer for live action and stop motion.
Alexa Angeles: With a degree in cinema and T.V. She assisted stop motion short films until she debuted as a director with Amanita. Currently focusing on post production. -
Batrachia
Lorenzo Silano
(Italy)
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6:47 | Animation, Experimental, Horror, Music Video
The empty life of a lonely boy blurs between dream and reality. His fears and desires intertwine, taking shape in a frightening and cumbersome version of himself that haunts him, revealing itself to be only a harmless observer. The choice to use 3D animation, robotic and polygonal, in contrast with a static and distant direction, aims to underline the blurred boundaries between the reality in which the protagonist exists and the imaginary world in which he lives.
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Lorenzo Silano was born in Rome in 1996. Since 2011, he has been creating short films, music videos, and animations. From 2013, he has worked as an illustrator, and from 2017 to the present, he has served as a director, director of photography, art director, and visual artist.
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Flora, Fauna, Funga
Sam Sheline
(Chile)
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16:51 | Documentary
This short film follows Chilean mycologist and National Geographic Explorer Giuliana Furci’s search for new mushrooms in far southern Chile, on the main island of Tierra del Fuego. She’s joined by biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake and mycologist Toby Kiers from SPUN, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, whose goal is to map the mycorrhizal networks of the world. Together, the three scientists illuminate how—through nutrient cycling and the essential relationships they form with plants—fungi underpin every ecosystem on Earth, and outline a strategy for greater fungal inclusion in conservation policy.
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Sam Sheline is an award-winning environmental filmmaker based in Richmond, Virginia. As a Producer for National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab, Sam loves telling untold stories with passionate people and working to understand how to make a real-world impact through storytelling.
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Fungi Forage
Molly Brown, Cy Henty, Al Ronald
(UK)
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2:10 | Animation, Music Video
A humorous song about foraging for mushrooms (and the necessity of having an in-depth knowledge of what is and is not safe to eat) excerpted from The Grunting of the Watford Wyrm, an animated film produced by the British comedy duo, The Electric Head.
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The Electric Head (Cy Henty and Al Ronald) are an award-winning comedy duo who - in addition to their stage shows - also produce comedy films. Molly Brown is an award-winning filmmaker and animator whose work has been screened in film festivals and art galleries in countries including the U.K., Germany, Austria, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Brazil, Poland, Switzerland, India, and France.
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Gold of the Plateau
Miriam Follin
(China)
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5:52 | Documentary
Spring has arrived on the Tibetan Plateau, and Zhuoma sets out on a search for something quite extraordinary.
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Miriam Follin was born and brought up i southern Sweden, but moved to China in 2015. In 2017, she moved to Qinghai, part of the Tibetan Plateau, and that same year she began documenting life and culture from the area.
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How to Film a Mushroom
Lucas Gortemaker
(Netherlands / Belgium / Germany)
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20:14 | Experimental
"How to Film a Mushroom" is an experimental documentary that follows a filmmaker's journey as he attempts to create a film about mushrooms, despite his initial lack of knowledge. As he delves deeper into the world of fungi, he unintentionally explores the role of artificial intelligence in art, uncovering the implications this technology has on human self-perception. The film weaves together traditional documentary techniques with AI-generated imagery, creating a unique visual experience that reflects the organic complexity of mushrooms. The narrative draws parallels between the growth of fungi and the filmmaker's expanding understanding, illustrating the interconnectedness of nature and technology. The film also addresses themes of ego and self-discovery, as the filmmaker learns to appreciate the beauty of both the natural world and the digital realm. Through this exploration, the audience is invited to reflect on the evolving relationship between humanity and technology.
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Lucas Gortemaker (1993) is a Rotterdam-based filmmaker and educator, currently working on his first major project since graduating from the LUCA School of Arts. His work often explores the intersection of nature and technology, with a focus on blending traditional documentary techniques with innovative visual elements. In addition to his filmmaking, Lucas is a part-time lecturer at Hogeschool Rotterdam, where he shares his passion for storytelling and creative expression. He is also in the early stages of developing a feature-length film set in Rotterdam, further exploring his unique artistic vision.
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If Camembert Were To Disappear Too...
Francesca Barbieri
(France)
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28:07 | Animation, Documentary, Experimental
The Camembert cheese is going to disappear soon. How can it be ?
A story of molds that gives us a lesson about biodiversity preservation. -
Francesca Barbieri, born in Rome and based in France, is a scientists that started to do films and to work in science outreach.
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Il Fungo di Albaredo
Lennart Reichel
(Italy)
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3:40 | Documentary, Experimental, Sci-Fi
Places are made by humans and non-human actors. "Now" is the encounter of processes on multiple scales (both temporal and spacial). The poetic and speculative Science Fiction in this piece is an exploration of space and time sparked by the Fungo di Albaredo. A rock formation based in the Italian Vallagarina.
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Based in Leipzig, Germany. Gardener, critical map-maker and ferment-enthusiast. They/Them pronouns.
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Misteria del Bosque (Mystery of the Forest)
Ger Killeen
(USA)
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4:40 | Experimental
As an indigenous Mexican healer sings a song of praise for the mushrooms she uses in her practice, the rich imagery of fungal mysticism unfolds on the screen to complement her alluring voice.
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Ger Killeen is a poet, filmmaker, digital artist and augmented reality developer. His work has been shown in many digital art exhibitions, most recently at the Hong Kong International AR Art Fair and Digital Art Month Paris.
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MUSH
Maya Zhelyazkova
(Bulgaria)
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2:12 | Adventure, Animation
In the forest a crow has died. This is the end of a life but the beginning of many other things. From the inside to the outside, lots of different creatures sustain themselves from the carcass. A fungus, generous in it's own way, helps an oak seed to grow above the ground.
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I am Maya Zhelyazkova, a Bulgarian animator and illustrator, recently graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy in The Netherlands. In my practice I work with analog and mixed-media techniques to create narratives and share them in forms which tell their story. From recently I have been captivated by the world of fungi, which inspired my most recent work.
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Mushlings
Magdalena Berezowska
(Poland)
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3:53 | Animation, Documentary, Fantasy
The film is a short documentary on Mushlings - a magical evolution of common mushrooms. Through the fairy-tale-like creatures, the film shows the beauty and variety of mushrooms and nature itself. It teaches respect for the forest and the world around us. Humans do not live here alone, this point is especially emphasized when little cute mystical mushroom creatures are at stake! Some of the pieces depicted are: King Bolets, Fly Agaric, Hoof fungus, Puffball, and many more.
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Magdalena Berezowska is an animator and illustrator based in Warsaw Poland. Graduated New Media Arts at The Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in 2023. Magda has been fascinated with nature since childhood, her safe space is the forest near her. No wonder now she is obsessed with fungi and all the stories related with them.
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Mushrooms in Space
Rosi Bundz
(Germany)
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5:05 | Documentary
Fungi and space. Two words that don`t seem to have anything to do with each other. As it turns out, they do. An astrophysicist presents us the surprising story of fungi in space. Fungi in space were first discovered on the MIR station in the mid 90s. Scientists never stopped studying them since because it turns out, fungi thrive in space. Fungi made it to the ISS and may even be used as building material on other planets.
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I'm a TV director with a degree in journalism and have been in the business for about 10 years. I specialise in science content.
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Mycelium
Heather Whelton
(UK)
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3:21 | Experimental
My film is a short experimental mixed-media animation which involves a range of techniques including embroidery animation, digital animation, and traditional animation on paper. The film is inspired by many walks in the woods and seeing all of the small mushrooms pop through the ground. Upon researching more into fungi, I discovered how interesting and intelligent they are as an organism, which also then inspired me to make a film about them. The experimentation of using different mediums within my work and how they can show interesting textures that cannot be produced digitally was very enjoyable. The process of making this film was quite laborious, however, the outcome made it entirely worth it. Contains flashing images.
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My name is Heather and I am an animator from the Berkshire in the UK. I am heavily inspired by nature within my work and love incorporating it into my work.
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Mycoaudiology: The Lost Tapes
Sebastian Fontey-huety
(UK)
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6:32 | Documentary, Drama
Everyone in the mycology community has heard rumours and tales of ‘Slim’ Jim Smith and Brian ‘the Big B’ Tucker. Two mycophiles who supposedly dedicated their lives during the 70’s and 80’s to recording and documenting the sounds of fungi. Using hand-built recording machines, they discovered that mushrooms sing songs. But whatever happened to them, and where are their tapes? One man has spent the last 12 years unpicking the mushroom myths and fungi folklore in pursuit of these characters and their recordings. Did they even exist? This is the remarkable story of that search. This is Mycoaudiology; The Lost Tapes.
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Sebastian is a long time fungi historian and first time film maker. His years of investigation and the story unearthed as a result felt like the perfect film to share with the FFF.
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Psilocybin
Alvaro Giraldo Mesones
(Spain / Canada)
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2:50 | Music Video
DillanPonders awakes from a fungi trip on the desert, he is not sure where he is she starts walking. Still trippin he finds a bar and has an encounter with the death itself muajajaaa
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Alvaro Giraldo is a self-taught artist who works as a video producer, animator, illustrator and musician. Most of his work is fueled by the cartoon of the 30s, music, psychedelia and urban art. His style is strongly marked by several aspects: punk rock, cinema and pop surrealism and fungi trips.
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Silverphae
Hannah Read
(USA)
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In this music video, Stinkhorn mycelium gracefully dances and grows, mirroring Hannah’s lilting music performed on fiddle (Hannah Read), banjo (Michael Starkey), upright bass (Jeff Picker) and sound design (Charlie Van Kirk). Read translating these visuals into music—taking tempo cues from the microscopic mycelium’s organic movements.
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Hannah Read is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and composer. Born and brought up in Edinburgh and now based in Northern California, her music straddles both sides of the Atlantic.
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The Mushroom Keepers
Naveed Mulki
(India)
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16:08 | Documentary
The Mushroom Keepers unveils the profound relationships between fungi and the Khasi and Garo communities of Meghalaya, India. Through intimate conversations with the elders of these communities, it reveals the intertwined loss of biodiversity and ancestral knowledge as old-growth forests dwindle.
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Naveed Mulki is a writer and filmmaker with a passion for unearthing unique stories that often go unnoticed, focusing on culture, conservation, and the human experience. As a film artist commissioned by the Museum of Art and Photography in Bangalore, he creates films that respond to South Asia's most intriguing art and artists, exemplified by his 'Unsupervised' series that premiered at the 'Art is Life' festival in 2023. Mulki's recent work includes video installations exploring lost collective memories through children's imaginations in Uruguay, featured at the CAMPO Art fest 2023-24. Currently, he is working on a feature documentary that draws parallels between fading Tamil and Irish fishing cultures, while his future projects aim to explore space, stillness, and nuance in storytelling.
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Visions of the Fungicene
Angel Salazar
(Argentina)
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5:48 | Experimental, Sci-Fi
Visions of the Fungicene delves into the space-time crises reshaping our reality, exploring the melting of time and ontological shifts. It envisions future ecosystems co-designed by fungi and AI, depicting planetary terraforming scenarios in a post-Anthropocene era. By training AI on the patterns of fungi like Agaricus, Amanita, and Suillus, the film creates immersive, synthetic landscapes, imagining worlds governed by non-human agencies and offering a glimpse into the pluriverses beyond our time.
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Angel Salazar is an Ecuadorian electronic media artist who lives and works in Argentina. His work includes interactive installations, digital manufacturing processes, and the design of technological devices. His practice develops in a transdisciplinary manner between art and technology, exploring various futurist narratives around the notion of post-nature from South American perspectives through the speculative use of artificial intelligence tools. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Technology and Aesthetics of Electronic Arts at UNTREF, he has exhibited his work in various cities in South America and Europe.
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