‘Fantastic Fungi’ Explores the Magic of Mushrooms

There’s a visual magic that kicks off the documentary Fantastic Fungi, as time-lapse scenes of emerging and unfurling mushrooms brilliantly color the screen. That much is expected from director Louie Schwartzberg, a pioneer in this patient field of cinematography who’s been running his cameras continuously 24/7 for more than three decades.

But as your eyes sparkle in awe, your brain opens to the astonishing information being conveyed by the audio, which details how intertwined mushrooms are with humankind and the earth at large. Then come experts, from self-taught-mycologist-turned-fungi-for-all-prophet Paul Stamets to writers such as Michael Pollan and Eugenia Bone, who relay all of the astonishing things that mushrooms can do, from fighting cancer and healing psychological trauma to cleaning up environmental disasters and saving honeybees. It’s an entertaining, stimulating, eye-opening film, even for people who fancy themselves relatively knowledgeable on fungal facts. 

Schwartzberg answered a few of my questions last week, and he will be in town for the screening on November 24 to answer yours.