Amid the bustling world of Central Oregon's wild mushroom hunting camps, the lives of two former soldiers intersect. Roger, a 75 year-old sniper with the US Special Forces in Vietnam, and Kouy, a 46 year-old platoon leader of Cambodia's Khmer Freedom Fighters who battled the Khmer Rouge, come together each fall to hunt the elusive matsutake mushroom, a rare mushroom prized in Japanese culture and cuisine. However, the pair discover more than just mushrooms in the woods: they find a new life, a livelihood, and a means to slowly heal the scarring wounds of war. Told over the course of one matsutake mushroom season, The Last Season is a journey into the woods and into the memory of war and survival, telling a story of family from an unexpected place.
The Last Season premiered at the 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival, where it was the recipient of the Golden Gate Award. The film's extensive festival run included Hot Docs and the Camden International Film Festival, and ultimately culminating in a nomination for the Truer than Fiction Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.
Producer: Josh Penn
Co-Producer: Alana Pryor Ackerman
Editors: Erin Casper and Stuart Sloan
Re-recording Mixer / Sound Mixer: Lawrence Everson
Composers: Dan Romer and Osei Essed
Additional Cinematographers: Sara Dosa and Alana Pryor Ackerman
Co-Producer: Alana Pryor Ackerman
Editors: Erin Casper and Stuart Sloan
Re-recording Mixer / Sound Mixer: Lawrence Everson
Composers: Dan Romer and Osei Essed
Additional Cinematographers: Sara Dosa and Alana Pryor Ackerman
"Sumptuous…Moving…A richly textured story of cultural coagulation in which men are united by violence, global commerce, and finally, respect–for each other and the forest which soothes and supports them all." – IonCinema
"Elegaic, and insightful as to the traumatizing effects of war on men from different backgrounds." – The Evening Class "A lyrical ode to the wonders of love and nature, even amid inevitable change." – San Francisco Chronicle
***Nominee, Truer than Fiction, 2014 Independent Spirit Awards
***Golden Gate Award, San Francisco Intl. Film Festival
***Documentary Award, Center for Asian American Media