Catherine Marciniak

Catherine Marciniak is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer and journalist whose work sits at the intersection of science, story and the natural world. When you watch a Planet Fungi film — short or feature-length — it is Catherine behind the camera, shaping the narrative in the field and later beavering away at the edit desk.

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She is the lead co-author of Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray, a book that pairs Stephen Axford’s extraordinary photography with stories from fungi safaris, field encounters and mind-expanding science. The book is co-authored with leading mycologist Tom May.

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Before her immersion in fungi, Catherine spent more than three decades in long-form documentary storytelling, followed by an eleven-year stint as a features reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a career that has helped to craft over 80 hours of television, multi-screen exhibitions and digital journalism. Her work earned her two finalist nominations for the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

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Catherine is co-writer of the IMAX-scale documentary Fungi: Web of Life and director and co-producer/co-writer of Follow the Rain. Based in regional New South Wales, she continues to collaborate with scientists, artists and communities to tell stories that reconnect people with the living systems beneath their feet.