The world’s only film festival dedicated to mushrooms and molds, the Fungi Film Fest (FFF), will premiere its seventh annual program at Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon on December 3rd. Attendees will enjoy 16 short films on the theater’s largest screen and will also receive free streaming access to the Fest’s five additional films.
The 2026 FFF features works from 18 countries and which span from 30 seconds to 90 minutes in duration. Film topics and genres are as varied as the fungi themselves, with comedy, animation, sci-fi, drama, documentary, and experimental pieces filling the program. Some films are odes to these incredible organisms, as seen in the visually-striking 22 minutes of The Dreams of the Last Drum (Argentina) or experienced in the inspiring 35-minute documentary Allpa Ukundi, Ñukanchi Pura (Ecuador and Colombia), which tracks the work of mycologists and the Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku to defend the rights of nature. Emotionally stirring films include the children’s tale Fire in My Pocket (Hungary), which creatively combines stop motion animation with time lapses of mushrooms growing, and Pee Break (USA) and Gim’s Little World (Taiwan): two shorts that add a warm dose of hilarity to the oft-serious world of mycology.
Founded in 2020 by Portland-based mycologist and author Peter McCoy, the FFF has hosted more than 130 films from over 30 countries over the last six years. Since 2023, the Fest has premiered in the late fall at the historic Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon. The FFF is an initiative of Mycoculture Research, Arts, and Development, an organization founded by McCoy to highlight the intersections of mycology across the arts and humanities.
The seventh FFF kicks off with two live screenings of the year’s 16 short films at Cinema 21 theater in Portland, Oregon (616 NW 21st Ave). The premiere will be on Thursday, December 3 at 7 pm PST, during which the Fest’s award winners will be announced. An encore matinee showing will take place at Cinema 21 on Sunday, December 6 at 3:30 pm. Attendees of both screenings will get free online access to the five additional films not shown with the shorts. The audiences will also be able to vote for the winner of the FFF’s Audience Choice Award.
After the Fest’s premiere, the year’s films will be viewable on demand via Vimeo from December 3, 2026 until January 4, 2027.
Tickets for the FFF’s in-person showings are available at: https://cinema21.com/movie/2026-fungi-film-fest.
Film descriptions and information on how to watch the Fest online is available at: https://mycoculturerad.com/pages/fff-2026.
For media inquiries, please contact Peter at info@fungifilmfest.com.
About the Fungi Film Fest
The Fungi Film Festival is an independent cultural event dedicated to showcasing films and media exploring fungi, ecology, environmental philosophy, and human relationships with the more-than-human world. Founded in Portland, Oregon, the festival supports emerging and established artists working at the intersection of cinema, science, and ecological storytelling.
FFF Links:
http://fungifilmfest.com
instagram.com/fungifilmfest
facebook.com/fungifilmfest
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