Next screening - 12 April, 6.00 PM, Pearces Creek Hall, NSW.

Screening, supper and Q & A

Follow the Rain

new feature documentary from Planet Fungi

In one of the wettest years Australia has ever seen, world famous fungi hunters Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak, follow in the path of the rain. They search out the weird and wonderful fungi that emerge and discover why fungi are critical to life as we know it.

What’s in the film?

In an endangered forest in Australia, fungi hunter and acclaimed fungi photographer Stephen Axford, spies an intriguing frosty blue mushroom. He discovers it has no name. No one knows where it fits in the Kingdom of Fungi. He is the first to document it for science. 

Turns out this mushroom is one of the two million – eleven million species of fungus that scientists think could exist but have not yet been identified.

The science of fungi has been a neglected frontier of discovery.

Turns out this mushroom is one of the two million – eleven million species of fungus that scientists think could exist but have not yet been identified.

The science of fungi has been a neglected frontier of discovery.

Today there is a mass myco-awakening and the race is on to document as many species of fungi as possible, as fast as possible.

At the forefront of this push internationally are Stephen Axford, and his partner in life and all things fungi, filmmaker Catherine Marciniak.

In Follow the Rain, their latest documentary, they invite us into their fungi obsessed world.

They share their fungal finds in some of the most stunning wild landscapes of Australia –tropical islands, ancient rainforests, the hostile majesty of the desert. 

We discover the creepiness of zombie fungi and the wonder of the Australian ghost fungus.

They take us behind the scenes into their fungarium, revealing what they observe as they record the life and death of mushrooms and mycelium growing in spellbinding time-lapses.

They meet mycologists who are revealing mind-expanding science.

And they unearth new and charismatic species.

The evocative score by composers Romano Crivici and Carla Thackrah layers the story with magical fragile harmonies and powerful rhythms, creating a vast primal soundscape.

Visually captivating, a symphonic treat and incredibly entertaining, Follow the Rain is an exploration of the world of fungi the like of which we have never seen. It combines a decade of research and passion, magnificent fungi time-lapses and footage, and the most incredible fungal stories.

About Planet Fungi

We are Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak of Planet Fungi. For over a decade, we have been documenting fungi in photographs and videos across Asia and Australia.

You may have seen our time-lapses of fungi growing in David Attenborough's Planet Earth 2 or featured in the Netflix documentary Fantastic Fungi. Or perhaps you recognise some of Stephen's macro photographs from international nature journals.

You can check out what we do on Instagram and YouTube - @Planet_Fungi.

We document fungi because humans are only just starting to understand how important fungi are to life on our planet and how critical they are in protecting us from the impacts of climate change. We realise now that without fungi, the world as we know it would not exist - forests would not exist, and we would not exist. Now the push is on to document as many species as possible, as fast as possible. Raising awareness about fungi is critical to achieving that goal.

Crowdfunding mission accomplished

In December 2023 we received a wonderful gift for the Kingdom of Fungi.

A philanthropist from the US, has donated not only the remaining dollars we need to reach our FOLLOW THE RAIN outreach crowdfunding target but some additional funds that will fully finance a study guide for schools and tertiary institutions, and a “how to” handout on the pathways to study mycology.

With Michelle’s generous support, and the support of all of you who have donated to the crowdfunding campaign we now have the funds to start making a real difference for the Kingdom of Fungi.

We thank you all. You are big hearted humans making a difference for all of us.

Outreach campaign

Here’s how your support will make meaningful impact for fungi in 2024:

  1. Creation of a study guide for the documentary with curriculum based activities for schools. This will educate young people about the Kingdom of Fungi and raise awareness about its critical role to life as we know it. This study guide will value add to classroom screenings of FOLLOW THE RAIN.

  2. Creation of a pamphlet - Pathways to study Mycology to assist those wishing to study mycology at a tertiary level.

  3. Targeted screenings for decisions makers in collaboration with AMS, Fungimap and Taxonomy Australia to raise awareness with Government about the critical importance of the Kingdom of Fungi, funding gaps, and benefits of increased funding for taxonomy.

  4. Targeted screenings and workshops for community groups and events in Australia and internationally. See below for the first of these rolling out in 2024.

“Without fungi there would be no forests”

— Stephen Axford, Photographer & Presenter