Daughter of the Forest
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 us on an unexpected, sometimes speculative exploration of the realities of two indigenous communities and the fungi in the forests of Mexico, inviting us to reconsider the perceptions and experiences of both the human and non-human inhabitants of our world.
Producers: Paula Arroio, Elena Fortes, & Otilia Portillo Padua
Director: Otilia Portillo Padua
Writer: Otilia Portillo Padua
Editing: Andrea Chignoli
Sound: Javier Umpierrez
Composer: Lewis Jones
Otilia Portillo Padua works include the short THREE VOICES, which screened at SXSW, Ambulante, Morelia, DocsMX, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Documenta Madrid, Lima Film Festival, FIDBA Buenos Aires, and London MexFest. The film was considered one of the audience favorites local documentaries for that year and had limited theatrical distribution. She wrote and directed the short documentary BIRDERS for Netflix. Otilia has participated in Berlinale Talents Doc Station and Guadalajara Talents. She has been a recipient of the National Young Creator’s Fund, the Mexican Institute for Cinematography, the Artist Accelerator Programme, and the Sundance Institute. She studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association, London.