SXSW Film Review: Daughters of the Forest (Otilia Portillo Padua, 2026)

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SXSW Film Review: Daughters of the Forest (Otilia Portillo Padua, 2026)

Posted on

21 Mar 2026

by

Gary

The moment Doña Julia called out the names and toxicity of each mushroom on the forest floor as if she was an NFL manager shopping in a draft pick, you knew it wasn’t Spanish. There was a rhythm out of a clear set of vocabulary, one that can keep you from writhing in pain or starting a heart-felt conversation with a tree frog … or both simultaneously. In their forest homes, this remains just as vital as our hollering for impending Waymo reversal into a stranger’s face.

Daughters of the Forest does not broadcast the typical call-to-action a la “protect Mother Earth now or die horribly.” It is small-case Greenpeace meets NAACP, on the barely visible scale of mushrooms.

Through formal scientific learning, personal graft like the picking, selling and farming of mushrooms, as well as conducting eco tourism, two women are fighting back by understanding their forests. Their Zapotec and Tlahuica heritage are at a crossroads. There is resentment about outsiders appropriating knowledge and walking away with the next wellness trend without reciprocating in kind. But there is also a sense of dread that much knowledge will be lost if not shared.

Strictly speaking, Daughters of the Forest is not exclusively a documentary and there are a few scripted scenes. The production for the hallucinations was quite basic, but I think the director was right not to try – who can beat the real thing? Instead, more energy is spent on the interconnectedness of life using mushrooms as the metaphor. Ruminating positively, if there is such a thing. The woodwind score is quietly useful, contemplative and not intrusive.

What I like the most is the passive tone, like the forest rendered in a far longer time scale, is never bleak nor optimistic. Illegal logging, setbacks, and heartbreaks are temporary and never stopped either woman. They and their families are simply determined to make sure the land continues to work for their people. The forest still reserves its best secrets for those who care – and some of the scientific know-how might make trees stronger. And since many in our outside world already sate their psyche with fungal compounds, Daughters of the Forest could be sitting on a goldmine.

PrevPreviousSXSW Review: Adult DVD, March 15, BME @ Palm Door on Sixth

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