Fantastic Fungi Screenings

ILLUMINATE and Sedona International Film Festival present

Fantastic Fungi
A film by Louie Schwartzberg

ILLUMINATE's Third CineMatters Series Event

When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, Fantastic Fungi brings us together as interconnected creators of our world.

Fantastic Fungi, directed by Emmy-nominated Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet.

Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offers us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.

Narrated by Oscar-winner Brie Larson, Fantastic Fungi shares profound healing stories and explores the medicinal qualities of mushrooms and its ability to treat anxiety, depression and disease. "The fungal networks are here to help heal the planet, heal your body and perhaps, even shift your consciousness," Schwartzberg said. Some say mushrooms produced the "single most spiritually significant experience of their lives".

The film is a blueprint for what connects all humanity and the natural world. 

Screenings followed by Skype Q&A and community discussion on the health benefits of mushrooms.

As of August 2021, now available through Netflix!

Film Trailer

About Louie Schwartzberg

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning producer, director and cinematographer whose notable career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials.

As the only filmmaker in the world who has been shooting time-lapse 24/7 continuously for over four decades, Schwartzberg is a visual artist breaking barriers, connecting with audiences, and telling stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and places.

His recent theatrical releases include the 3D IMAX film Mysteries of the Unseen World with National Geographic, narrated by Forest Whitaker, and Wings of Life, a feature- length documentary for Disneynature, narrated by Meryl Streep.  He appeared on Super Soul Sunday and partnered with the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to premiere Gratitude Revealed on Oprah.com.

In addition to his feature films, Schwartzberg also curates Moving Art™, the world’s first collection of 2D and 3D moving images created as fine art for digital screens, from nature to cityscapes to visual effects. 

Schwartzberg is distinguished as an artist and a pioneer who transformed 35mm time-lapse photography into an arresting art form made available for the first time to feature films and other content platforms. His stunning nature, aerial and slice-of-life imagery has transformed films by such directors as Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Haggis and Ridley Scott, including American Beauty, The Bourne Ultimatum, Crash, Erin Brockovich, E.T., Independence Day, Jerry Maguire, Koyaanisqatsi, Men in Black, Twister and countless others.

A coveted speaker worldwide for inspirational corporate and nonprofit audiences, Schwartzberg is also active in the TED community. Videos of two of his most recent TEDx talks are regularly cited among the top-watched TEDx talks of all time.

For Schwartzberg, the greatest satisfaction is creating works that can have a positive effect on the future of the planet. “I hope my films inspire and open people’s hearts. Beauty is nature’s tool for survival – you protect what you love. If I can move enough people on an emotional level, I hope we can achieve the shift in consciousness we need to sustain and celebrate life.”

Louie was ILLUMINATE 2017 Conscious Film Convergence's keynote speaker discussing "Catalyzing Positive Change in Trying Times".

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