Looking ahead to his own remaining aspirations as a filmmaker, Louie Schwartzberg professed a love of exploring and bringing his films into “more immersive experiences.”

He cited examples such as the exterior of the “Sphere” venue in Las Vegas, hotel and hospital healing rooms, and “the emergence of sensory immersive spaces that are going to be popping up everywhere.”

It makes a lot of sense coming from Schwartzberg, director of the highly acclaimed 2019 documentary “Fantastic Fungi,” and one of the distinguished guests of the 25th annual Port Townsend Film Festival.

Schwartzberg will be attending the “Fantastic Fungi” screening during the film festival, outdoors on Taylor Street at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, but before that meet-and-greet, The Leader asked him a few questions.

In the five years since “Fantastic Fungi,” Schwartzberg noted the advances that have been made in artificial intelligence that “promise to enable us to showcase more of the invisible magic of the most social network.”

Regarding concerns about AI, Schwartzberg added, “As long as it’s based on accurate scientific scanning electron microscopy, I believe it is a good thing.”

Schwartzberg looks forward to attending the Port Townsend Film Festival because of how much he loves the Olympic Peninsula.

“It’s a magical place, where four ecosystems live side-by-side in a small 50-mile area — coastal, rainforest, glacial and rainshadow,” Schwartzberg said. “I hope to experience rainforest and rainshadow, and the beautiful community-based people of Port Townsend.”

As a filmmaker with two decades of experience under his belt, Schwartzberg acknowledged that “technology is evolving at a very fast pace, so it’s important to stay on top of it.”

At the same time, Schwartzberg advised aspiring filmmakers that what’s key to making them successful is developing their own voices within their craft.

Schwartzberg told such up-and-coming artists to ask themselves, “What is the story you want to share with the world, and why is your worldview a gift to the world?”

In turn, Schwartzberg believes the art of filmmaking would be improved if audiences would “let go of trying to identify every image, and let the heart absorb the emotional feelings these sacred rhythms and patterns have to offer. They can heal you and open your heart.”

Schwartzberg asserted that filmmaking is at “a critical juncture, where the battleground today is about grabbing your attention, and the way that news, politicians and media do it is primarily by using fear and conflict to push our fear buttons.”

He proposed that the alternative should be “something emotionally equal or more powerful,” such as “beauty, hope, curiosity and love.”

“This is not a ‘new age’ philosophy,” Schwartzberg said. “It’s based on the science that fear generates cortisol, which creates inflammation and disease, and shortens your life expectancy. Beauty and love generates serotonin and endorphins that excite every cell in your body, to feel alive and flourish.”

He added, “That is the choice we need to make, and avoid the knee-jerk junk food reaction to live in the narrative of fear and conflict that’s overtaking our consciousness, with the explosion of social media. Nature and community is a way to step off that negative carousel that’s accelerating with a phone in every pocket.”

Schwartzberg isn’t above recommending his own media, so instead of “negative news,” he requested that fans try the LouieChannel.com for “a toxic-free media experience.”