Join us for 'Industry Titans' Film Screening Selection + Q&A as part of Wildscreen Festival’s Official Selection public screenings.

Short film 'Flora, Fauna, Funga' opens this event with a fascinating insight into the fungi sustaining life on Earth. This is followed by Feature Film 'Orca – Black & White Gold' uncovering the illicit Russian orca trade to the billion dollar market in China.

Flora, Fauna, Funga (16m): Sam Sheline
This short film follows Chilean mycologist Giuliana Furci’s search for new mushrooms in far southern Chile, on the main island of Tierra del Fuego. She’s joined by biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake and mycologist Toby Kiers from SPUN, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, whose goal is to map the mycorrhizal networks of the world. Together, the three scientists illuminate how—through nutrient cycling and the essential relationships they form with plants—fungi underpin every ecosystem on Earth, and outline a strategy for greater fungal inclusion in conservation policy.

Orca – Black & White Gold (91m): Sarah Nörenberg
When a truth-seeking investigative journalist uncovers the illicit Russian orca trade to a billion dollar market in China, fearless activists issue a call to action. The international outcry forces the Kremlin to free over 100 wild-caught orcas and belugas from the infamous “whale jail” facility where they are held captive before their sale to Chinese aquariums. A ragtag team of orca catchers is paid by the government to set them free, launching a dangerous release operation over a thousand miles long, while a former orca trainer goes undercover in China to reveal the heartbreaking truth about life for these highly intelligent animals living in captivity.

Entry requirements: no age restrictions — Read more — Read less