DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST is a story of entanglements: between humans and mushrooms; the visible and the invisible; generational knowledge and modern science. This immersive sci-fi documentary takes viewers on an unexpected, sometimes speculative exploration of the realities of two Indigenous communities and the fungi in the forests of Mexico, inviting them to reconsider the perceptions and experiences of both the human and non-human inhabitants of our world. Lis and Juli, two scientifically-trained young women, both come from communities that have long lived in symbiosis with the diverse mushrooms in their distinct regions of Oaxaca and Mexico State in Mexico. They strive to further collective understanding of the fungi with which human existence is entwined. But the world they know is changing, and their pursuits are threatened by deforestation, lack of opportunity, and loss. Along their parallel paths, they share their knowledge and reveal how mushrooms show different possibilities of coexistence, helping them overcome obstacles and reshape their lives and futures. Director Otilia Portillo Padua joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on family, indigenous peoples culture, language, and mushrooms. About the filmmaker - Otilia Portillo Padua (Director, Producer) is a Mexican film director. She studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association, London. Her works include: THREE VOICES, which screened at SXSW, Ambulante, Morelia, DocsMX, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Documenta Madrid, Lima Film Festival, FIDBA Buenos Aires; and BIRDERS, a short documentary she directed and wrote for Netflix. She is the recipient of the One House Filmmaker Fund and the Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Documentary Fellowship. She has received grants from Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, the Mexican Institute for Cinematography, and the Sundance Institute. DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST won the First Look prize at the Hot Docs Forum and received support from Sundance-Sandbox, the Redford Center, and the Doc Society Climate Fund.
