Psychedelic documentaries
by sivistysliitto | created - 23 Jan 2023 | updated - 5 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Dosed: The Trip of a Lifetime (2022)
86 min | Documentary
A loving mother is granted the legal right for medical use of magic mushrooms. She then embarks on a courageous journey of personal transformation and healing, exploring possible cures for cancer, like cannabis oil.
Directors: Tyler Chandler, Nicholas Meyers | Stars: Laurie Brooks, Gabor Maté, Dennis J. McKenna, Paul Stamets
Votes: 479
2. From Shock to Awe (2019)
R | 87 min | Documentary, War
From Shock to Awe, 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.
Director: Luc Côté
Votes: 74
3. A New Understanding: Science of Psilocybin (2015)
55 min | Documentary
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 ... See full summary »
Votes: 67
4. Ayahuasca and the Path of the Shaman (2018)
96 min | Documentary
"Ayahuasca and the Path of the Shaman" is a 96 minute documentary that investigates the healing properties of the Peruvian Plant Medicine, Ayahuasca. Driven by a need to heal from his own ... See full summary »
Director: Todd Michael Harris | Star: Adele Lafrance
Votes: 12
5. María Sabina, mujer espíritu (1978)
80 min | Documentary
"Maria Sabina, woman spirit", is the cinematic portrait of one of the most famous healers-shamans of Mexico.
Director: Nicolás Echevarría | Star: María Sabina
Votes: 79
6. Ibogaine: Rite of Passage (2004)
50 min | Documentary
Ibogaine: Rite of Passage follows an American heroin addict through an ibogaine session at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Through a series of critical interviews with former addicts, ibogaine... See full summary »
Director: Benjamin De Loenen | Stars: Howard Lotsof, Patrick K. Kroupa
Votes: 56
8. Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within (2007)
79 min | Documentary, History
A documentary which invites the viewer to rediscover an enchanted cosmos in the modern world by awakening to the divine within.
Directors: Rod Mann, Nikos Katsaounis, Kevin Kohley | Stars: Rick Doblin, David S. Eindl-Ra, Stanislav Grof, Barbara Marx Hubbard
Votes: 66
9. Neurons to Nirvana (2013)
85 min | Documentary, History, News
A stylish, in depth look at the renaissance in psychedelic drug research in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge.
Director: Oliver Hockenhull | Stars: Lesley Ewen, Dennis J. McKenna, David Healy, David E. Nichols
Votes: 1,310
10. D'autres mondes (2004)
90 min | Documentary
The secrets about unlocking the mysteries of consciousness by plant-drugs. The related chances and risks involved in this shamanism.
Director: Jan Kounen | Stars: Pablo Amaringo, Guillermo Arévalo, Michel Boccara, J.C. Callaway
Votes: 378
11. National Geographic Explorer (1985– )
120 min | Documentary, History
A weekly series of short documentary segments funded by the National Geographic Society and done in the style of the National Geographic Specials. In 2003, the show was re-branded National ... See full summary »
Stars: Salvatore Vecchio, Peter Coyote, Lisa Ling, Ryan Duffy
Votes: 316
12. Becoming Nobody (2019)
PG | 81 min | Documentary
Director's interviews, accompanied by archival footage and original music, Ram Dass explores our universal human condition and behaviors in connection to the journey of the soul and the shared unity of all of our lives.
Director: Jamie Catto | Stars: Jamie Catto, Ram Dass
Votes: 427
13. Shamans of the Amazon (2001 Video)
52 min | Documentary
An informative and compelling exploration of Shamanic use of Ayahuasca, the extraordinary visionary brew.
Director: Dean Jeffreys | Stars: Dean Jeffreys, Terence McKenna, Rick Strassman, Yatra da Silveira Barbosa
Votes: 43
14. Fantastic Fungi (2019)
Not Rated | 81 min | Documentary
Fantastic Fungi is a descriptive time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.
Director: Louie Schwartzberg | Stars: Brie Larson, Andrew Weil, Giuliana Furci, Paul Stamets
Votes: 11,558
15. Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness (2021)
102 min | Documentary
What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? What happens when we die? Why do we seem to be hardwired for mystical experience? In these times of existential crisis, there has been an ... See full summary »
Directors: Eric Black, Frauke Sandig | Stars: Richard Boothby, Mary Cosimano, Justine Fritz, Monica Gagliano
Votes: 158
16. Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness (2019)
87 min | Documentary, Animation, Adventure
Explore three psychedelic trips by three world-famous authors that together changed them, and Western culture, forever. Let go and be taken on an animated journey into the depths of the ... See full summary »
Director: Rob Harper | Stars: Rick Doblin, Amanda Feilding, Graham Hancock, Holly Harman
Votes: 161
17. Psychedelia (2021)
58 min | Documentary, History, News
This introduces the viewer to the world of mysticism and its relationship with psychedelic drugs and their place in modern world, with emphasis on the developments in the 20th century.
Director: Pat Murphy | Stars: Dinah Bazer, Anthony Bossis, Robert Cohen, Gale Cowan
Votes: 84
18. Ayahuasca (I) (2014)
51 min | Documentary, Adventure
Documentary about a journey to the heart of the Peruvian Amazon in search of a healer who works with jungle plants. Recounts the experience of the preparation of an Ayahuasca's ceremony.
Directors: Fabiola Simonetti, Roberto Cañas
Votes: 47
19. Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey (2008 TV Movie)
100 min | Documentary
Plant Explorer Richard Evans Schultes was a real life Indiana Jones whose discoveries of hallucinogenic plants laid the foundation for the psychedelic sixties. Now in this two hour History ... See full summary »
Director: Peter von Puttkamer | Star: Wade Davis
Votes: 154
20. Magic Medicine (2018)
79 min | Documentary
In 2012 a team of medical researchers asked themselves, "what would happen if we gave psilocybin (magic mushrooms) to people suffering from severe depression"? It took them three years to get the necessary permissions to find out.
Director: Monty Wates | Stars: Robin Carhart-Harris, Rosalind Watts
Votes: 382
21. Orange Sunshine (2016)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Orange Sunshine is the never-before-told story of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love - a spiritual group of surfers and hippies in California, which became the largest suppliers of LSD during ... See full summary »
Director: William A. Kirkley | Stars: Austin Arnold, Tyler Mauro, Francesca Galassi, Taylor Bottles
Votes: 636
22. The Way of the Psychonaut: Stanislav Grof's Journey of Consciousness (2020)
86 min | Documentary
Stan was a pioneer in human consciousness research and one of the primary psychiatrists who developed psychedelic psychotherapy. Follows the full scope of the insights Stan Grof developed during his 60 year career.
Director: Susan Hess | Stars: Fritjof Capra, Amit Goswami, Brigitte Grof, Stanislav Grof
Votes: 80
23. Bufo Alvarius: The Underground Secret (2018)
78 min | Documentary
A radical testimony of the strongest known natural psychedelic, tryptamine 5-MeO-DMT produced by Bufo Alvarius, a toad of the Sonoran desert.
Director: Filip Zaruba | Star: Stanislav Grof
Votes: 61
24. DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
An investigation into the long-obscured mystery of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a molecule found in nearly every living organism and considered the most potent psychedelic on Earth.
Director: Mitch Schultz | Stars: Joe Rogan, Ralph Abraham, Joel Bakst, Steven Barker
Votes: 4,855
25. The Substance: Albert Hofmann's LSD (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
In 1943, Albert Hofmann discovered LSD. Fractions of a milligram are enough to turn our framework of time and space upside down. The story of a drug - its discovery in the Basel chemistry ... See full summary »
Director: Martin Witz | Stars: Trevor J. Roling, Hanspeter Müller, Mario Scarabelli, Albert Hofmann
Votes: 838
26. Dosed (2019)
82 min | Documentary
After years of prescription medications failed her, a woman turns to the underground to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine, like magic mushrooms and iboga.
Director: Tyler Chandler | Stars: Adrianne, Tyler Chandler, Nicholas Meyers, Rick Doblin
Votes: 744
27. The Sunshine Makers (2015)
101 min | Documentary, History
The story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counter-culture.
Director: Cosmo Feilding-Mellen | Stars: Tim Scully, Nick Sand, Alice Einhorn, Billy Hitchcock
Votes: 1,489 | Gross: $0.01M
28. Dirty Pictures (2010)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography
Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin is the scientist behind more than 200 psychedelic compounds including MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy. Considered to be one of the the greatest chemists of ... See full summary »
Director: Étienne Sauret
Votes: 722
29. Descending the Mountain (2021)
78 min | Documentary
A Zen monk and a neuroscientist team up to explore the effects of psilocybin in meditators.
Director: Maartje Nevejan | Stars: Vanja Palmers, Franz X. Vollenweider
Votes: 87
30. 5MEO: Are Some Doors Better Left Unopened? (2020)
73 min | Documentary
At a crossroads in life, three men go on a journey to take the world's most potent psychedelic drug, 5MEO-DMT.
Directors: Boris Jänsch, Frank McCaughey, Charles Turley
Votes: 21
31. Have a Good Trip (2020)
TV-MA | 85 min | Documentary, Comedy
Mixing comedy with a thorough investigation of psychedelics, 'Have a Good Trip' explores the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens.
Director: Donick Cary | Stars: Nick Offerman, Sting, A$AP Rocky, Bill Kreutzmann
Votes: 8,619
32. Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place (2011)
R | 107 min | Documentary
A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' fabled road trip across America.
Directors: Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney | Stars: Stanley Tucci, Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, Jim Meskimen
Votes: 1,674 | Gross: $0.15M
33. Psychonautics: A Comic's Exploration Of Psychedelics (2018)
81 min | Documentary
Comedian Shane Mauss goes on a series of adventures to deepen his understanding of psychedelics. With moments of both confusion and clarity, this documentary is an honest account of the experiences of a genuine Psychonaut.
Director: Brian Bellinkoff | Star: Shane Mauss
Votes: 175
34. The Last Shaman (2016)
77 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
James gives himself 12 months before he has 'a license to kill himself', he sets off to the amazon rainforest with hopes of finding a shaman who can save his life.
Director: Raz Degan | Stars: Guillermo Arevalo, James Freeman
Votes: 2,022 | Gross: $0.02M
35. Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul (2010)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary, Adventure
On a quest for spiritual awakening and healing, a naturopathic doctor and an accountant join others in the Amazon to drink a hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca or 'Vine of the Soul'. ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Meech | Stars: Guillermo Arévalo, Gabor Maté, Dennis J. McKenna, Kenneth Tupper
Votes: 404
36. The Soldier (II) (2021)
58 min | Documentary
Henrik, a Danish war veteran, returns to Denmark with post-traumatic stress syndrome after his second deployment in Afghanistan. After various failed treatment attempts he moves deep into ... See full summary »
Director: Nikolaj Møller
Votes: 41
37. Aya: Awakenings (2013)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Mystery
An experiential journalist ventures into the Amazon Jungle to discover the mysteries of a powerful visionary plant medicine and the shamans who work with it.
Directors: Timothy Parish, Rak Razam | Stars: Guillermo Arévalo, Even Dawn, Kevin Furnas, Percy Garcia Lozano
Votes: 104
38. The Reality of Truth (2016)
PG | 84 min | Documentary
This highly controversial documentary explores the relationship between, Spirituality, Religion, and Psychedelics. Lead by "Zappy" Zapolin, the film explores the many myths about reality, ... See full summary »
Directors: Laurent Levy, Zappy Zapolin | Stars: Tim Booth, Deepak Chopra, Peter Coyote, Ram Dass
Votes: 236
39. My Psychedelic Love Story (2020 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 102 min | Documentary, History
An examination of the high priest of LSD Timothy Leary through the eyes of famed lover Joanna Harcourt-Smith. Was Leary's "perfect love" a CIA plant or was she simply a rich, beautiful young woman out for the adventure of a lifetime?
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Timothy Leary, Joanna Harcourt-Smith
Votes: 508
40. Icaros: A Vision (2016)
91 min | Drama
A film shaped like a shamanic journey, steeped in a psychoactive brew, exploring fear and destiny in the jungle of the mind.
Directors: Leonor Caraballo, Matteo Norzi | Stars: Ana Cecilia Stieglitz, Filippo Timi, Arturo Izquierdo, Guillermo Arévalo
Votes: 215 | Gross: $0.01M
41. Salvia Divinorum: A Western Approach (2022)
100 min | Documentary
In western society, hallucinogenic shamanic plant medicines often spiral into abuse, legislation, and scientific restrictions. Salvia Divinorum is arguably worlds most powerful naturally ... See full summary »
Director: Erin Wyche | Stars: Ray Mawhinney, Anthony Adams, Brian Arthur, Wayne Briner
42. Manifesting the Mind: Footprints of the Shaman (I) (2009)
Not Rated | 121 min | Documentary
With philosophy and insight from Dennis McKenna, Terence McKenna, Clark Heinrich, Alex Grey, and many others, this broad look at entheogens is not to be missed by anyone interested in psychedelics and shamanism.
Director: Andrew Rutajit | Stars: Dennis J. McKenna, Rick Strassman, Alex Grey, Timothy Freke
43. Tawai: A Voice from the Forest (2017)
101 min | Documentary
Explorer Bruce Parry travels the world, living with indigenous peoples, delving deeper then ever on a journey into the heart of our collective human conscience.
Directors: Bruce Parry, Mark Ellam | Stars: Bruce Parry, Ingrid Lewis, Jerome Lewis, Iain McGilchrist
Votes: 290
44. Psyched Out (2018)
84 min | Documentary
A documentary exploring plant medicines and psychedelics, with an attempt to show a different perspective than the current mainstream narrative. Some of them used for thousands of years as ... See full summary »
Director: Giovanni Bartolomeo | Stars: Giovanni Bartolomeo, Rick Doblin, Graham Hancock, Elliot Hulse
Votes: 20
45. The Starck Club (2014)
Documentary
The epicenter for 1980s counterculture wasn't spawned in New York, Los Angeles, or even Manchester, England but in the most unlikely of places, Dallas, Texas. The infamous Starck Club was a... See full summary »
Directors: Michael Cain, Miles Hargrove | Stars: Philippe Starck, Larry Hagman, Blake Woodall, Christina de Limur
Votes: 12
46. Contemplations: On the Psychedelic Experience (2022)
116 min | Documentary
CONTEMPLATIONS distills the wisdom in the Australian entheogenic community, visualizing deep personal journeys to illuminate and assist us to understand the psychedelic experience.
Director: Julian Palmer | Star: Rak Razam
Votes: 67
47. The Song That Calls You Home (2020)
72 min | Documentary
A personal, scientific, mystical exploration of Amazonian curanderismo, focus on Ayahuasca and Master Plants, their healing and visionary properties and risks, along with the Shipibo people and their songs.
Directors: Vanni Mangoni, Luis Robledo | Stars: Benoit Allouche, Ricardo Amaringo, Alexandra Cherkun, Mateo Domingo
Votes: 44
48. Trip of Compassion (2017)
83 min | Documentary
Thousands of victims of PTSD in Israel live with no hope. In recent years an innovative treatment for PTSD was developed - psycho active substances. The film documents victims of PTSD, over... See full summary »
Director: Gil Karni
Votes: 106
49. Wormwood (2017)
40 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
In 1953, Army scientist Frank Olson takes a fatal plunge from a hotel window. In 1975, a bombshell report ties his death to a top-secret experiment.
Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Christian Camargo, Scott Shepherd
Votes: 4,712
50. Lamar Odom: Reborn (2023)
Documentary
Director: Zappy Zapolin | Stars: Charles Grob, Lamar Odom, Zappy Zapolin
51. The Psychedelic Drug Trial (2021 TV Special)
59 min | Documentary
With exclusive access to a ground-breaking trial, this film asks if psychedelic drugs combined with psychological support can help tackle one of the biggest medical challenges we face - depression.
Director: Sam Eastall | Stars: Robin Carhart-Harris, David Nutt, Ros Watts
Votes: 28
52. Iboga Nights (2014)
98 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
David Graham Scott's 2004 film DETOX OR DIE documented how, with a single dose of iboga, he quit his drug addiction, inspiring others to do the same. Iboga has long been used in African ... See full summary »
Director: David Graham Scott
Votes: 60
53. The Ibogaine Safari (2014)
38 min | Documentary, Short
South Africa is a waste land of addiction with a drug consumption rate twice the worlds norm. Witbank in Mpumalanga has the highest density of heroin addicts in the country. Film maker ... See full summary »
Stars: Matthew Brink, Peter James, Juan le Roux, Simon Loxton
54.
One Life (2003– )
Episode:
Detox or Die
(2004)
45 min | Documentary
A dramatic documentary biopic in which the drug addicted filmmaker tries a radical and frightening method of detox. Link to full documentary at bottom of page.
Director: David Graham Scott | Star: David Graham Scott
Votes: 32
55. I'm Dangerous with Love (2010)
TV-MA | 82 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Michel Negroponte (Methadonia, Jupiter's Wife) enters the ibogaine subculture and follows Dimitri Mugianis over three years, as he takes drug users through the same detox that saved his life.
Director: Michel Negroponte | Star: Dimitri Mugianis
Votes: 31
56.
Equinox (1986–2006)
Episode:
Rave New World
(1994)
50 min | Documentary
Documentary focusing on the effects of Ecstasy and its influence on club culture. This documentary also looks at lighting and video technologies that are used to enhance the rave/clubbing experience.
Director: Paul Sen | Stars: Tom Baker, Julie Brown, Graham Brown-Martin, Gary Cobain
57.
Horizon (1964– )
Episode:
Psychedelic Science
(1997)
60 min | Documentary
Director: Bill Eagles | Stars: Hugh Quarshie, Glacus De Silva Brito, Charles Grob, Stanislav Grof
Votes: 18
58. Hooked: Illegal Drugs & How They Got That Way - LSD, Ecstasy, and the Raves (2000 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, History
How did the psychedelic drugs LSD and Ecstasy journey from a scientific discovery to a popular recreation to banned drugs? Mental health professionals once believed that LSD could treat ... See full summary »
Director: Tom Yaroschuk | Stars: Robert Klitzman, Trinka Porrata, Michael Montagne, Lloyd Bentsen
Votes: 77
59. Hofmann's Potion (2002)
Not Rated | 56 min | Documentary
Researchers try to establish the medical benefits of LSD.
Director: Connie Littlefield | Stars: Duncan Blewett, Ram Dass, Stanislav Grof, Abram Hoffer
Votes: 279
60.
National Geographic Explorer (1985– )
Episode:
Inside LSD
(2009)
47 min | Documentary, History
LSD, a hallucinogenic street drug, was outlawed in 1970 but gained the status of being a tool of the counterculture, being able to inspire glimpses of genius or madness. Its volatile nature... See full summary »
Director: Pamela Caragol | Stars: Peter Coyote, Dan Gordon-Levitt, Patrick Hare, Isham Randolph
Votes: 97
61. Flipping Out (2007)
60 min | Documentary, War
Military service in Israel is compulsory for all able-bodied Jewish men and women. Once their years of service is up they are granted a bonus which many use to travel to India to wind down ... See full summary »
Director: Yoav Shamir
Votes: 197
62. Heaven Earth (2008)
60 min | Documentary
Explores the practice and commercialization of amazonian ayahuasca-shamanism in Iquitos.
Directors: Rudolf Amaral, Harald Scherz | Stars: Royce Alido, Pablo Amaringo, Jeremy Bennett, Elisa Vargas Fernandez
Votes: 9
63. Huxley's Exit (2016)
28 min | Documentary, Short
The generation who grew up reading Huxley's books are reaching their golden years. In this film, you'll meet a woman with cancer who took part in the psilocybin studies at Johns Hopkins, ... See full summary »
Director: Connie Littlefield
64. Better Living Through Chemistry (2021)
Documentary
A Man, A Woman, A Brand New Drug.
Director: Connie Littlefield | Stars: Paul Daley, Alexander Shulgin, Ann Shulgin, Myron Stolaroff
Votes: 11
65. Psychedelic Soldiers (2016)
15 min | Documentary, Short
Since 2004, more Canadian & American soldiers have died from PTSD related suicide than actual combat. Can MDMA help save our veterans?
Director: Michael Spadafora
66.
I Am Rebel (2016– )
Episode:
The Love Drug
(2016)
TV-14 | 44 min | Documentary
Chemistry prodigy Alexander Shulgin goes to war with the DEA when his psychedelic cure to treat PTSD hits the streets as party drug Ecstasy.
Director: Lance Edmands | Stars: Jonathan Cantor, Will Cooper, Heidi K. Eklund, Carson Grant
Votes: 17
67. Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary (2014)
95 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Dying to Know is an intimate portrait celebrating two very complex controversial characters in an epic friendship that shaped a generation. In the early 1960s Harvard psychology professors ... See full summary »
Director: Gay Dillingham | Stars: John Perry Barlow, Dean Chamberlain, Ram Dass, Peggy Mellon Hitchcock
Votes: 489
68.
This Is Life with Lisa Ling (2014–2022)
Episode:
Jungle Fix
(2014)
TV-PG | 42 min | Documentary
Lisa goes inside the hidden, mystical world of Ayahuasca, and investigates the popularity of this unregulated form of self-exploration, the power and consequences that can come along with its ingestion.
Director: Geoffrey O'Connor | Stars: Lisa Ling, Jonathan Peacy
Votes: 13
69. The Sacred Science (2011)
Not Rated | 77 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
Eight people. Eight illnesses. One journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle. They went looking for alternatives to the modern medicines that failed them. What they found would change their lives forever.
Director: Nicholas J. Polizzi
Votes: 264
70. Stepping Into the Fire (2011)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
This documentary is about successful man living an unfulfilling life and his road towards truth and happiness. It provides insight into ancient shamanic practices and commentary on human spirituality and wellness
Directors: Ouroboros, Ross Evison, Roberto Velez
Votes: 163
71. Biognosis (2023)
33 min | Documentary, Short
Biognosis shares stories of people who study, use, and protect the healing plants that surround an Amazonian community at a time when traditional knowledge is being lost as rapidly as the Amazon Rainforest itself.
Directors: Greg Hemmings, Christina Chaya | Star: Dennis J. McKenna
72. Psychedelic Revolution: The Secret History of the LSD Trade (2023)
Documentary
Director: Seth Ferranti | Stars: Ken Babbs, Carolyn Garcia, Hamilton Morris, Leonard Pickard
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