Holy Destructors

Winner of the IDFA Award for Best Directing in the experimental Envision section, Holy Destructors is an immersive exploration of heritage, tradition, and the microfungi that slowly rip them apart.

This engaging essay film examines the iconography that anchors our society – art, ritual, and religious artefacts – constantly under attack from a life form invisible to the naked eye. Microscopic images of these processes are rendered with sublime beauty, heightened by transcendental music. While preservation remains central, the film also celebrates the elegance of decay and the necessity of circularity. Throughout, the circular frame evokes peering through a microscope or keyhole, lending a playfully inquisitive tone. Grand religious processions are intercut with stunning microfungal imagery and comically dry observations of conservators attempting to protect our heritage from the relentless passage of time.

– Thomas Streekstra

TALK

Fungi often get a bad rap. They can be harmful in various ways, and in movies they are even shown “devouring” works of art. But they also play a crucial role in our world. Ecologist Bjorn Robroek sheds light on this other side of the story. What are fungi good for? And why do they exist in the first place?

He won’t do this just by talking to you. Together with artist Sissel Marie Tonn, he will make sure you feel it.

Can’t make it to this screening?

InScience 2026 continues from 11–15 March at Visum Mundi, Wageningen. Discover the full InScience Satellite programme here to find out when this film screens in Wageningen.