Award–Winning Sci-Fi Doc DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST Lands at SFFILM and Margaret Mead

SXSW Audience Award–Winning Sci-Fi Documentary DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST by Otilia Portillo Padua Heads to SFFILM and the Margaret Mead Film Festival for West Coast and New York Premieres Deep in Mexico’s Forests, Two Indigenous Mycologists Reimagine the Future Reconciling Ancestral Knowledge in a Changing World Daughters of the Forest (Hijas del bosque), the latest film by director Otilia Portillo Padua, continues its acclaimed festival run with its West Coast and New York premieres at SFFILMin San Francisco and the Margaret Mead Film Festival. The Mexican documentary had its world premiere at CPH:DOX, followed by its North American premiere in the Visions section at SXSW, where it won the Audience Award. A story of entanglements—between humans and mushrooms, the visible and the invisible, generational knowledge and modern science—Daughters of the Forest follows Lis and Juli, two scientifically trained young women from Indigenous communities that have long lived in symbiosis with the diverse mushroom ecologies of Oaxaca and Mexico State. They seek to expand collective understanding of the fungi with which human existence is intertwined. But the world they know is shifting. Their work is threatened by deforestation, limited opportunities, and ecological loss. Along parallel paths, they share their knowledge and demonstrate how mushrooms offer models of coexistence—helping them confront obstacles and reshape their lives and futures. This immersive and vibrant sci-fi documentary takes viewers on an unexpected, at times speculative journey into the realities of two Indigenous communities and the fungi in the forest they inhabit, inviting audiences to reconsider the boundaries between human and non-human worlds. Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s essay Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction and the principles of Radical Mycology, the film challenges apocalyptic narratives of collapse. Instead, it adopts a mycelial lens—non-linear, interconnected, collaborative—foregrounding a cinema rooted in reciprocity among foragers, Indigenous communities, scientists, and the more-than-human world. By illuminating the work of women who bridge scientific training and ancestral wisdom and with a luscious visual narrative, Daughters of the Forest counters narratives of extraction with those of community, process, and care—suggesting that the future remains unwritten and depends on our capacity for imagination and interdependence. “A mesmerizing tale about eco-conservation backed by Indigenous insights.” —Akash Deshpande, High on Films “Unforgettable. A love letter to the science fiction genre, cultural traditions passed down through generations, and, of course, mushrooms.” —Natalie D.C., Film Obsessive “Immersive and vibrant. Portillo Padua delivers a luscious visual narrative, while also illuminating the work of women who bridge scientific training and ancestral wisdom.” —David J. Fowlie, Keeping it Reel SFFILM In-Person Screening: Sunday, April 26, 3:15pm, Marina Theatre Margaret Mead Film Festival In-Person Screening: Sunday, May 3, 2pm, LeFrak Theater Watch the trailer: DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST (Hijas del bosque). Mexico, 2026, 95 min. In Spanish, Tlahuica, Zapotec, and Mazatec, with English subtitles. Directed and written by: Otilia Portillo Padua; Produced by: Paula Arroio Sandoval, Elena Fortes, Otilia Portillo Padua; Executive Producers: Jessica Harrop, Caitlin Mae Burke, Maxyne Franklin; Co-Executive Producers: Mia Maestro, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Tracy Rector; Cinematographer: Martín Boege AMC; Editor: Lorenzo Mora Salazar AMEE; Music: Hannah Peel; Sound Designer: Javier Umpierrez. Cast/Participants: Eliseete Ramírez Carbajal, Julieta Serafina Amaya Pérez, Julia Dolores Raimundo, Zenaida Pérez Marcos, Magdalena Martínez Reyes, Olivia Ayala Vázquez. About the Director: Otilia Portillo Padua is a Mexican film director. She studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association, London. Her works include: Three Voices, which screened at SXSW, Ambulante, Morelia, DocsMX, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Documenta Madrid, Lima Film Festival, FIDBA Buenos Aires; and Birders, a short documentary she directed and wrote for Netflix. She is the recipient of the One House Filmmaker Fund and the Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Documentary Fellowship. She has received grants from Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, the Mexican Institute for Cinematography, and the Sundance Institute. Daughters of the Forest won the First Look prize at the Hot Docs Forum and received support from Sundance-Sandbox, the Redford Center, and the Doc Society Climate Fund.