For immediate release

Discover Life in the Air and on the Ground in Two New Giant Screen Films at Fernbank

“Fungi: Web of Life” and “Wings Over Water” will premiere in early 2023

Atlanta, GA, Jan. 3, 2022 — Fernbank is opening two new nature documentaries in its 4-story Giant Screen Theater at the beginning of 2023: “Fungi: Web of Life,” premiering on Jan. 7, 2023, and “Wings Over Water,” debuting on Feb. 4, 2023.

“Fungi: Web of Life”

“Fungi: Web of Life” explores the complexities of fungi, which are neither a plant nor an animal, in director Joseph Nizeti’s visually stunning giant screen film. The movie showcases the different kinds of fungi around the world — throughout Tasmania, the UK, China and the US, for example — and their relationships with their environment and other organisms, including humans.

“Fungi: Web of Life” is only the beginning for uncovering all species of fungi on Earth. This film not only features stunning time-lapse photography to show the growth cycle of fungi, but it also includes microscopic imagery to reveal the fungi that aren’t noticeable to the human eye. “Fungi: Web of Life” emphasizes the understanding that fungi are their own kingdom of life and encourages audiences to think about ecosystems and forests differently. Additionally, “Fungi: Web of Life” demonstrates how these impressive organisms can perform incredible feats, such as detecting smells, light or even electricity. This film details how some select species of fungi can even become bioluminescent when oxygen interacts with the chemicals within the fungi to produce light.

Audiences will encounter different types of fungi and where they grow, as well as learn the valuable ways that fungi are essential to human life. For example, the film highlights a specific fungus in China that can eat plastic and how humans could use it to help reduce plastic waste. Additionally, the film introduces audiences to mycelium in upstate New York, which can grow material to replace plastic.

“Fungi: Web of Life” is a K2 Studios release and Stranger Than Fiction Films production.

“Wings Over Water”

“Wings Over Water” reveals the epic journeys of three amazing bird families – the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck. This film showcases extraordinary footage of the triumphs and challenges of these remarkable creatures who soar, despite all odds, across mountains, deserts, cities and forests as they head home to raise their young.

Audiences will fly alongside these bird species as they travel across the heartland of North America, using the lakes, rivers and wetlands of the plains as “flyways” and soar above an oasis of wildlife that lives within the prairie wetlands. Viewers will also explore how humans and nature can coexist in harmony. 

“Wings Over Water” is directed by Academy Award nominee Andrew Young, who is drawn to stories where the lives of humans intersect with nature, and is narrated by Michael Keaton, who is passionate about the protection of wetlands, which are essential to the survival of these bird species and all wildlife in the Great Plains and beyond.

SK Films, Dorsey Pictures, the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and Archipelago Films present “Wings Over Water.” Additional support was provided by Ducks Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited Canada and The National Audubon Society. The film has been recognized with a variety of awards, including “Best Film, Short Subject” by the Giant Screen Cinema Association, “Best Scientific Communication Film” by the Bejing International Film Festival and “Children’s Award” by the Wildlife Film Festival, Rotterdam.

These films will play daily in Fernbank’s Giant Screen Theater at Fernbank Museum. General admission tickets include daytime access to the museum, WildWoods, Fernbank Forest and a choice of one giant screen film. Tickets are available for purchase at FernbankMuseum.org for $25.95 for adults, $24.95 for seniors, $23.95 for children ages 3-12, free for children ages 2 and younger, and free for Fernbank Members. These prices are for tickets purchased online at FernbankMuseum.org. Tickets not purchased in advance are offered, if available, at a higher price. 

Fernbank is located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta, minutes from midtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur.

Media Inquiries

Jena Allison, Communications Manager
Jena.Allison@FernbankMuseum.org
404.929.6381

About Fernbank

Fernbank is one of the most popular and iconic cultural destinations in Atlanta. Known as Atlanta's Science and Nature Experience, Fernbank invites guests to discover a World of Wow through an expansive natural history museum, 4-story giant screen theater and 75 acres of nature adventures in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest. One of the oldest not-for-profit conservation organizations in the country, Fernbank was founded in 1939 to preserve Fernbank Forest, the largest urban, old growth, Piedmont forest in the United States. The museum and Giant Screen Theater opened as "a school in the woods for nature studies" on Oct. 5, 1992, and is today known for its giant dinosaurs, hands-on STEAM* programming, immersive experiences and year-round nature exploration. Visit FernbankMuseum.org for more information and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.