Filmed in the jungles of Peru, shaman Don Jose Campos introduces the practices and benefits of Ayahuasca, the psychoactive plant brew that has been used for healing and visionary journeys by Amazonian shamans for at least a thousand years.
Satan in the Suburbs tells the shocking story of a grisly ritualistic murder in the quiet bedroom community of Northport, Long Island in the summer of 1984. The killing, it soon emerged, was linked to a teen satanic cult. Perhaps more disturbing than the details of the murder itself was the revelation of a conspiracy of silence among the town's teenagers, many of whom had been aware of the, e killing in the two weeks before an anonymous call finally tipped off local police. 17- year-old Ricky Kasso was arrested and confessed to the crime; five days later, he hung himself in his holding cell. Kasso's friend Jimmy Troiano also. confessed, but was acquitted after jurors learned that he was beaten by local police. The murder shocked the local community and reverberated nationally, with some uninformed observers rushing to scapegoat rock music as the cause.
The daring experimenter Dr. John C. Lilly dedicated his life to radical self-investigation and unlocking the mysteries of consciousness and communication. “My body is my laboratory” was the motto, and his research on the language of dolphins and whales – as well as psychedelics and sensory deprivation – assured his own cult status in 20th-century pop culture as the basis for Ken Russel’s Altered States and Mike Nichols’s The Day of the Dolphin. Directors Michael Almareyda and Courtney Stephens, along with narrator Chloë Sevigny, explore the life of a determined scientist and his experiments into the psychonautical unknown.
A New Understanding explores the treatment of end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients using psilocybin, a psychoactive compound found in some mushrooms, to facilitate deeply spiritual experiences. The documentary explores the confluence of science and spirituality in the first psychedelic research studies since the 1970s with terminally ill patients. As a society we devote a great deal of attention to treating cancer, but very little to treating the human being who is dying of cancer.
We present this world from a close, non-sensational perspective. We show what we already know, what we still don't, and how to discuss the topic maturely. In recent years, there has been increasing talk of a resurgence in research on psychedelics and their potential use in treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. At the same time, this topic continues to raise many questions, emotions, and controversies. We examine therapeutic paths, work standards, limits of responsibility, and the current state of research. Physicians, psychiatrists, therapists, scientists, and those co-creating the system speak, alongside personal patient stories.
Hamilton Souther is the founder of Blue Morpho Tours, a company that caters to ayahuasca tourists in the Peruvian Amazon. Souther talks about the events that led him to Amazonian shamanism. Five first-time ayahuasca drinkers on a nine-day retreat with Blue Morpho relate their experiences.
The film, set almost entirely in New York, tells of the life of some young people of the late Sixties: of the use they make of various drugs, including the terrible LSD, of their sex life and their freedom of costume and thought.
Celebrities recall their most mind-bending trips via animations, reenactments and more in this comedic documentary exploring the story of psychedelics.
Documentary about seminal garage-rock band, The Seeds, that uses vintage footage, rare photos, memorabilia and audio, plus fresh interviews with band members and associates as well as notable fans and observers, Pushin’ Too Hard relates the bizarre rage-to-riches-to-rags tale of the rock quartet who took Los Angeles by storm in the mid-60s.
Mark McCloud is the world's leading collector Of LSD art. His 'Institute of Illegal Images' has over 30,000 framed hits of acid and traces the history of the drug's cultural influence through the unique art form used in its distribution - blotter art. After enduring and defeating aggressive prosecutions by law enforcement seeking to put him behind bars for life, Mark now appears to be more of a visionary than an outlaw and his museum has become a place of pilgrimage for believers in LSD's spiritual power.
In this documentary, "Zappy" Zapolin interviews spiritual gurus, celebrities, and people of various faiths about the relationship between spirituality, religion, and psychedelics—in their beliefs and in their experiences.
LSD made in ČSSR
This FDA film explores the history of hallucinogenic drugs, and specifically the effects and therapeutic uses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Combining graphics that suggest a hallucinogenic experience, snippets of interviews with users (who explain their reasons for taking the drug) and doctors, and taped sessions of research with volunteers, the film delves into the destructive as well as possible positive uses of the drug.
Uncovering government agencies (especially the CIA) that secretly tested the effects of LSD on humans.
The Inglewood Police Department's 1960s video, "LSD: Trip or Trap?" is a classic of the genre. Alex sez, "It's a story of two friends who enjoy flying model planes, except that one becomes an 'acidhead' so he can be 'groovy' with the other acidheads. The other does research into LSD and decides it's a 'bummer'."
Salvia Divinorum is an often misunderstood and powerful psychedelic plant used by the Mazatec shamans in southern Mexico for centuries. This entheogen's mysteries are thoroughly explored, by Director Erin Wyche, from an American view point.
Young reporter Lewis Lapham is invited by Aldous Huxley to report on a trip he will never forget....
THE SPIRIT MOLECULE weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.
A groundbreaking new documentary that illuminates the untold stories, struggles, and triumphs of Black people in the psychedelic therapy movement. Interest in psychedelic medicine has exploded in recent years, spurred by a resurgence of research and high-profile advocates. Despite the fact that indigenous Black and Brown people have been using these plant medicines for centuries, psychedelic medicine remains a fundamentally white space.
This refreshingly frank and impartial study of the discovery and development of the notorious hallucinogenic drug is notably free of moral judgmental, and features contributions from such legendary heroes of psychedelia as Albert Hoffman - the Swiss scientist who discovered the drug - Aldous Huxley - author of 'The Doors of Perception' - Ken Kesey - author of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.