More than One
Bia Gayotto
Official Selection
𖤘 Short: Animation, Documentary, Ethnographic, Experimental
“Renewal begins in the unseen: in networks of care and connection that sustain both ecosystems and communities.”
From seabed, to shoreline, to marsh, to forest and forest floor: this short experimental film is inspired by a group of women mushroom foragers living on the Sonoma Coast in Northern California, who embody the invisible mycelium network below our feet. Mycelium means “more than one” in New Latin and Greek, and refers to the vegetative part of a fungus, a mass of branching root-like structures. Although invisible, mycelium plays a vital role in decomposing plant material, resisting pathogens, and absorbing water and nutrients. They also help forests absorb carbon pollution, delaying the effects of global warming, and protecting our planet. Therefore, the mycelium network is essential to the well-being of our forests and ecosystems. Similarly, women are the primary caregivers for the well-being our communities, embodying strength, resilience, and connectedness. The work stimulates sensory and contemplative responses, evoking inter-relationships between the women, the mycelium and the forest, micro and macrocosm, real and imaginary.
Gayotto’s interdisciplinary practice includes photography, video installations and books, and combines elements of documentation, fieldwork, performance and collaboration.
Production: Bia Gayotto
Courtesy of the artist