Video & Film
“It’s time for us to really examine
what we are doing and to use
evidence.
At the moment a lot of our
policies are based on ideology -
not evidence”
Few people have done more to return psychedelics to the popular imagination—while lending them a dose of credibility—than author Michael Pollan. In his bestselling 2018 book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, Pollan introduced a wide audience to the scientific promise of psychedelic drugs. He also described his own life-changing experiences with the drugs. Since then, Pollan has become one of the world’s most prominent advocates for expanding research into psychedelic drugs, and he co-founded the new UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, which launched in 2020. Now, Pollan has partnered with Netflix to adapt his book into a four-part docuseries called How to Change Your Mind - Time Magazine
In 2012 a team of British researchers asked the question - what would happen if we treated 20 people suffering from severe depression with magic mushrooms?
It took them three years to get permission to find out.
From Shock to Awe (available on Vimeo)
How do we heal our deepest wounds? An intimate and raw look at the transformational journey of two combat veterans suffering from severe trauma as they abandon pharmaceuticals to seek relief through the mind-expanding world of psychedelics. Recent scientific research coupled with a psychedelic renaissance reveals that these substances can be used to heal PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) for individuals and their families. Beyond the personal stories, From Shock to Awe also raises fundamental questions about war, the pharmaceutical industry, and the US legal system.
The documentary centers on veterans, Matt Kahl and Mike Cooley, and their challenging post-war lives, lives shattered by the trauma of war. They struggle with anxiety, fear, depression, anger, and an overall inability to find an equilibrium in society and with their families. After confronting death multiple times, our heros set out on a journey of the human spirit.
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Dosed(available on Vimeo)
Synopsis: After many years of prescription medications failed her, a suicidal woman turns to underground healers to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine such as magic mushrooms and iboga. Adrianne’s first dose of psilocybin mushrooms catapulted her into an unexpected world of healing where plant medicines are redefining our understanding of mental health and addiction.
Trip of Compassion (available on Vimeo)
Description and note from Tim Ferriss:
“Trip of Compassion” documents one unusual approach to healing trauma that might astonish you, an innovative treatment involving the psychoactive drug MDMA (commonly known as “ecstasy”). As you will see firsthand, if the therapy is well designed, true rebirth and transformation can happen in a matter of weeks and not years.
If you’ve ever felt held back, felt defective in some way, or felt that you’re not living up to your full potential, this film will give you hope.
Filmed at the Beer Yaakov Mental Health Center in Israel, “Trip of Compassion” provides a rare glimpse into a treatment process that can restore optimism and even the will to live.
