WAIHEKE COLLECTIVE FILM FESTIVAL
Fantastic Fungi
Host: Kai Waiheke
A visually stunning deep dive into the hidden world of mushrooms and mycelium, this documentary reveals how fungi feed forests, recycle life and may hold powerful answers to our medical, ecological and even spiritual crises.
Director
Louie Schwartzberg
CAST
Brie Larson • Paul Stamets • Michael Pollan • Andrew Weil • Eugenia Bone
RATING
VA
Mild themes, drug use & occasional coarse language
RUNTIME
1h 21m
COUNTRY
United States
GENRE
Documentary, Nature, Science
LANGUAGE
English
LOADING...
WATCH TRAILER
FILM NOTES
An eye‑opening, mind‑expanding journey into the magic beneath our feet.
Fantastic Fungi is directed by renowned time‑lapse filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg, whose microscopic and ultra‑slow cinematography turns the fungal kingdom into a luminous, shape‑shifting universe. Narrated by Brie Larson, the film threads together contributions from leading thinkers including mycologist Paul Stamets and writers Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone and Dr Andrew Weil, exploring how mycelial networks underpin soil health, forest resilience and planetary cycles we usually take for granted. Along the way, it touches on cutting‑edge research into psilocybin‑assisted therapy, highlighting fungi’s potential role in mental‑health treatment.
For audiences, this is an immersive, consciousness‑shifting experience that feels as sensorial as it is educational. Sweeping aerial shots, hypnotic close‑ups and clear, engaging explanations make complex science feel accessible, even for viewers with no background in biology. The film invites you to see the world as an interconnected web, where mushrooms are not side characters but quiet protagonists in stories of regeneration and repair. It’s a perfect choice for nature lovers, science‑curious viewers and anyone in need of a hopeful, wonder‑filled look at how life knits itself back together.