Otilia Portillo Padua’s Daughters of the Forest transports you to a different world and way of life, a unique indigenous perspective rarely seen on screen, where ancient tradition, family lineage, and modern science coexist in surprising and beautiful harmony. The Audience Award Winner in the VISIONS category, it follows two young indigenous scientists whose deep generational connection to mushrooms becomes a breathtaking lens through which they examine their identity, their culture, deforestation, and the intricate relationship between an ancient tradition and connecting it to modern science.
The film follows with a deceptively simple but profound rhythm. We watch her walk through the woods to find a mushroom, double-check that it is correct and still alive, and then, in a striking touch, it cuts to a metaphysical moment beneath the ground before she analyzes the mushroom’s taxonomy in a lab. Rural life, feeding animals, and simple earth living meet modern technology on her computer. The cool effects, like the microscope eye looking at the specimen paired with another angle, go hand in hand to produce some of the most stunning photography and creative transitions you will see in any documentary this year.
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The film doesn’t shy away from real danger either. It’s always best to eat what you know; with certain species, a little piece is enough to kill a person. Across 160 species, the film explores cool mushrooms, their characteristics, and how the stomach reacts to them. I love the scene full of curiosity and genuine joy when she takes the kids into the woods to explore and learn about different mushroom species.
The human element is equally powerful. Her father reflects on his family’s past, underscoring how this activity is part of their family lineage and how they connect with their culture and nature. There is a lovely scene of the women sitting around a table chatting, carrying a quiet dedication to the members of her family who have passed. The sci-fi elements mesh well with the storytelling throughout, and the experimental, moody moments truly heighten the emotional stakes in ways you don’t always expect from a nature documentary.
Daughters of the Forest also carries a pointed environmental conscience. A mushroom tour on the back of a truck educates locals and visitors, while the film confronts the deforestation of Languas de Sempoala through illegal logging head-on. The stark contrast between aerial shots of the trees transitioning to the deforested devastation is haunting, a gut punch that shows a cruel reality to the region. At its core, this documentary is about people reconnecting to the forest and embracing their values and territory.
Visually splendid and wholly original, Daughters of the Forest is the kind of documentary that lingered with me days \after the credits roll. It is an immersive, stunning documentary that challenges the way we see both the human and natural worlds around us and how they are connected. You leave it feeling transported and grateful to have made the journey.
Daughters of the Forest premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and is seeking US distribution.
