Posts tagged "film"
Can Mushrooms Help Heal a Pro Surfer’s Brain Injury? New Short Film "Resuracing: Koa Smith"
When a devastating accident leaves a pro surfer with a traumatic brain injury and depression, he searches for answers where ancient rituals meet modern science. Resurfacing: Koa Smith, a brand new mind-expanding short film from MUD\FILMS, has just premiered worldwide. You can watch it for free below. Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
New short film, Debbie and Doug Drop Acid in the Desert A poignant journey with trippy characters -- including Larry King?!
A very trippy new short film comes out today, and you can watch it for free! Here’s how the filmmakers describe it on the film’s website: Debbie and Doug (Angela Gulner and Zack Gold) are desperate to re-ignite the fire of their once passionate marriage, but their future is uncertain. About to hit rock bottom, they enlist the help of an alternative therapist (Maria Bamford) who claims that the only way to save their relationship from impending death is to take acid in Joshua Tree. When they accidentally take ‘ way, way, way too much’ of this prescribed...
Welcome to NYC’s Psychedelic Film & Music Festival An Interview with Organizer Daniel Abella
One of the most intriguing film and music festivals is coming to New York City, and it’s all about tripping: The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival is billed as “an ode to the exploration of altered states of consciousness created by music, art, film and psychedelia.” Its mission is “to explore the outer limits of consciousness with respect for others and the planet. To create a new paradigm for the adventurous.” Highlights include a performance by psych-horror soundtrack musician Simon Boswell, a talk with ethnopharmacologist and botanist Dennis McKenna (brother of the late Terence McKenna), the world premiere of...
Deleted “Avatar” Scene Shows Hallucinogenic Vision Quest
Did you know the script of James Cameron’s Avatar, the 3D blockbuster from 2009, originally called for a full-on psychedelic vision quest? The scene must have gotten cut fairly late in production, because it was filmed with live actors and animation had already begun. The CGI renders were left in a blocky, unfinished state, but it’s easy to tell what’s going on. Titled “The Dream Hunt,” the scene is a fascinating glimpse into the spirituality of Pandora’s native Na’vi culture. The main character, Jake Sulley, agrees to take part in the initiation ceremony, in which he must take potent psychedelics in...
“Room 8” — The Ending of this Short Film is Mind-Blowing
This 7-minute film blew me away. At first the stark tone and lighting drew me in. Then things started getting trippy in Room 8 and I couldn’t look away. It’s a fantastic film with echoes of Escher, Borges, Christopher Nolan, and Richard Kelly. (You probably know M.C. Escher and Christopher Nolan, but Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentinian writer whose incredible stories often featured mirrors, mazes, and infinity. Richard Kelly is the director of Donnie Darko and The Box, two very trippy movies.) Definitely hit full screen and pay attention for this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RGYdbLSizI Incredible as it may be, I...
Bungee Jumping Into the Godhead An Interview with Writer, Filmmaker, and Psychonaut Rak Razam
The vine has spread her tendrils across the world and a genuine archaic revival was underway. My bags were packed, South America beckoned, and the ancient mysteries of the rainforest awaited. I wanted in on it… —Rak Razam I sat down with Rak Razam, the writer, producer, and main subject of the new film Aya: Awakenings, for a 45-minute interview covering everything from the legacy of Terence McKenna to the intense 5-MeO-DMT trip that occurs at the climax of the film. The documentary, an adaptation of the book of the same name, covers the ayahuasca tourism phenomenon through...
Endtrip, a Sublime and Disturbing Take on Death
This video will take you on one freaky journey. Some parts will remind you of Enter the Void, the DMT-dusted death journey from Gaspar Noé, but other parts are completely original. From the Vimeo descripton: Endtrip is an animation short film in which we experience a breathtaking trip through the bizarre and fantastical unconsciousness of a drug overdosed girl. This visually stunning journey offers a glimpse into the extraordinary and strange workings of the mind. Check it out (full-screen mode recommended): Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
Golem, a cerebral short film about human culture
Golem is a short film by Patrick Mccue & Tobias Wiesner. It’s hard to describe, but the filmmakers say it’s based on ideas of “freedom and curiosity, fear and security, abstraction and fiction, the lack of accessibility in face of unknowing and the need for generating meaning.” Watching it, I couldn’t help but think of how very psychedelic these topics are — not because they’re “far out, man,” but because they are important. These are exactly the kinds of big-picture revelations that cross my mind while in a state of heightened awareness. Thoughts like these–whether inspired by an...
Mirror City, a trippy kaleidoscopic time-lapse of cityscapes
Mirror City is a short time-lapse film showing five American cities like you’ve never seen them before. Filmmaker Michael Shainblum took footage of urban landscapes and reflected it at different angles to create the mind-bending kaleidoscopic journey below. Some shots are mirrored only 2 or 4 times, but others show 8 or even 16 reflections of a cityscape at once. Filmmaker Michael Shainblum describes the video on the Vimeo page: When I first started Mirror City, I wanted to create a video that was completely out of the norm. I wanted to showcase something unique and artistic, which takes...
The Chain of Destruction and the persecution of drug users
It’s almost Independence Day in America, and millions of people will celebrate this weekend with backyard cookouts, fireworks, and time with family and friends. But please take a minute to consider the people in America and abroad whose freedoms have been revoked because they committed the non-violent crime of drug possession. The War on Drugs is a war on people, most especially poor people and minorities. It the modern version of a witch hunt. Eugene Jackecki’s documentary The House I Live In discusses the American War on Drugs with refreshing candor. This seven-minute segment covers the “chain of destruction” which occurs...
Tierra Vida: An Ayahuasca Journey
There have been a flurry of ayahuasca documentaries lately, but I think this one takes the cake. In 2012, Alex Ward lived out of a backpack for 8 months, participated in over forty shamanic ceremonies, and went exploring “far beyond the veil of reality with Ayahuasca.” A freelance artist and filmmaker, Alex was originally looking for artistic inspiration to spur his creative pursuits. But as he puts it, “I got a little more than I bargained for.” Lucky for us, he made a short (26 min) video testimonial about the experience and what he learned from it. Check it...
Three psychedelic Kickstarter campaigns fully funded
Another sign of the times: three different Kickstarter campaigns relating to psychedelics have recently been funded! Alex Grey’s Entheon art temple, web magazine Reality Sandwich 2.0, and the film Neurons to Nirvana have all exceeded their fundraising goals in the last couple weeks. The first is Entheon, the brainchild of visionary artist Alex Grey. The Entheon campaign made over USD $200,000, far exceeding the original goal of USD $125,000 and making it the second most funded art project in Kickstarter history. So what is Entheon? According to the Kickstarter page: For over 30 years, the art of Alex...