Get ready to go on an unforgettable trip as IMAX brings the world of fungi to life this October with 3D documentary FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE.
Like an otherworldly creature that has accidentally stumbled its way between the soils of our earth, there is one organism unlike any other in our ecosystem. While often delicious, this creature’s capabilities stretch far beyond complementing your avo smash. Its healing properties, mind-twisting effects and potential for environmental remediation make it sound like something from another planet. But this is no alien. This is fungi, the web of life.
FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE is your chance to take a trip through the transcendental world of fungi as UK biologist Dr Merlin Sheldrake goes on a journey to discover the endless possibilities of this intriguing organism. This unique 3D experience is coming to IMAX Melbourne for a very limited run from Saturday October 19.
FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE
- IMAX Melbourne
- Limited sessions from October 19
- Tickets here
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If anyone or anything can change the world, it might just be fungi. The film adventures through the world of this curious creature through a masterful display of cinematography, music and science.
As if that all doesn’t sound magical enough, the soothing tones of ethereal sonic princess Björk will accompany you on the journey, guiding you through this transcendental trip.
Dive into the world of fungi with Björk
Everyone’s favourite Icelandic popstar tells the billion-years-old story of fungi’s existence on our planet and the potential this species holds for a better future. Björk breathes her iconic spell of enchantment into the film as the documentary considers the ways in which we can better understand life on earth through the life of fungi.
Blown up bigger than you’ve ever experienced fungi before, this all-consuming visual feast promises to open a portal to a side of nature that you’ve perhaps never considered. Right under our feet lives a creature so spectacular so as it almost be supernatural. We just have to remember to look down.
A new dimension to mushrooms
You’ll see the portal open up on the IMAX screen, and you’ll almost be able to feel it, too. Projected in spectacular 3D, the life of fungi won’t just be before you, but all around you, beckoning you to reach out and touch it.
Director Joseph Nizeti is the mastermind behind this 45-minute sensational experience. After seeing Australian photographer Stephen Axford’s time-lapse images of fungi, the team behind FUNGI knew that this was a story that belonged on the big screen. Not just any big screen, for that matter – the world’s largest 1.43:1 cinema screen.
Dr Sheldrake’s book Entangled Life also was a major source of inspiration for the filmmakers. Exploring the way in which mycology (the study of fungi) shapes our world, Entangled Life provides the soil in which FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE has spawned from.
Shroom with a view
Not dissimilar to fungi itself, the documentary is a feat of nature. Taking place in Tasmania’s ancient Tarkine rainforest, the film provides a portal through time. An expanse of nature that is largely unchanged from the time of the dinosaurs, the fungi’s home in Tarkine is beautifully captured in a way that honours their ancient history and speaks to their future possibilities for our planet.
Transcendental things come in small packages. Or, as Dr Sheldrake puts it, it’s time to give this kingdom of life “a kingdom’s worth of attention”. Speaking about the film’s finished product, Dr Sheldrake says that the footage in FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE blew his mind. This – coming from an expert who has seen his fair share of mushroom content – isn’t to be taken lightly.
The best fungal photographers working today
Through the combination of time-lapse photography with IMAX projection and 3D vision, the fungi become a beast of its own. This extraordinary feat is thanks to the work of some of the best fungal photographers working today, including Stephen Axford, Catherine Marciniak, Wim van Egmond and Patrick Hickey.
This special collection of screenings at IMAX will no doubt be hot property after the film’s sold-out run at MIFF in August. Fungi will be here forever; FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE will not. The film is also an adventure that encourages people of all ages to come along for the journey. No matter who you are, fungi, in some way, shape or form, are significant to your thriving existence.
Fungi are blown up on the big screen and slowed down to the extreme. It’s captured in ways you haven’t seen before and considered for uses you never knew it could. If one thing is for certain, it’ll change the way you look at your smashed avo with mushies on toast.
Special pre-recorded Q&A screening with Dr Merlin Sheldrake
Lucky tickets holders for FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE at 6:15pm on Monday October 21 will also get the chance to catch a pre-recorded Q&A with Dr Merlin Sheldrake after the film’s screening. This special session will allow viewers to step even further behind the curtain and hear Dr Sheldrake answer some burning questions after a venture through this intricate web of shrooms.
The film promises to change the way you think about this peculiar organism. Come along and sink into Björk’s narration as you watch the fungi – and maybe the world – change before your eyes.
You can check out the program for FUNGI 3D: THE WEB OF LIFE here.
This article was made in partnership with IMAX Melbourne.
