Description

Amidst Central Oregon’s seasonal hunt for the elusive matsutake mushroom, two former soldiers’ friendship is cemented by their shared painful experiences of war in Southeast Asia. Cambodian freedom fighter and refugee Kouy Loch and an ailing elderly Vietnam vet and his wife form a new family. Roger Higgins is a vet who plunged into alcoholism to try to fend off trauma, and Theresa Higgins is his wife and caretaker. With Roger too ill to hunt, Loch — whose foraging skills were gained starving under the Khmer Rouge — wanders the forest searching for the lucrative matsutake to support his young daughter. With weather and the Japanese market impacting the rare mushroom’s value from day to day, the season passes toward winter and the hunt’s end.

 A poetic film about trauma, nature, family and friendship. Winner of the Golden Gate Award for Best Bay Area Documentary and recently acquired by PBS for national television.

— Kenji Liu

Co-Presenter: San Francisco Film Society

Credits

Executive Producer: John Montague, Adam Spielberg
Producer: Josh Penn
Cinematographer: Alana Pryor Ackerman, Star Rosencrans
Editor: Erin Casper, Stuart Sloan
Sound: Lawrence Everson
Music: Dan Romer
Cast: Roger Higgins, Theresa Higgins, Kouy Loch

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