PS2025 Psychedelic
Cinematheque

Cinematheque is a festival within a festival at the PS2025 conference. This truly unique psychedelic-centric film festival kicks off even before the expo doors open on Monday, June 16 and will continue through Thursday, June 19.

The PS2025 Psychedelic Cinematheque will be featuring an eclectic mix of new and archival films, both documentary and narrative, dedicated to a wide range of psychedelic interests! Each screening will include in-person appearances by directors and film subjects, plus live Q&A sessions with special guests.

Filter By
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Join Louie Schwartzberg, the visionary filmmaker behind Fantastic Fungi, as he takes us on a global mycelial journey—spreading spores of awe through immersive experiences across the globe from the Las Vegas Sphere to the pulsing heart of Tomorrowland, and into clinical trials merging his imagery with psilocybin to help heal addiction.A visual trip into connection, consciousness, and the intelligence of nature.
Presentation/Film Clips
Monday, June 16
6 pm - 9 pm

Spreading the Spores: From Global Stages to Inner Spaces

Director: Louis Schwartzberg

In 1968, a young flight attendant bought 900 lbs of marijuana in Jamaica and tried to smuggle it out. This leads to unexpected consequences.
short/animation
Monday, June 16th
3 pm - 5 pm

Patty Are You Bringing Weed in from Jamaica?

Director: Matthew Salton‍

Many historians agree that the North American figure of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named Saint Nicholas of Myra, a bearded fourth-century Greek Christian with a penchant for charitable giving. St. Nicholas was presumably the basis for the Dutch Sinterklaas, patron saint of children, who donned a big, red cape and rode around on a white horse to visit children on the name day of Saint Nicholas, the sixth of December. According to folklore, Sinterklaas carried a red book in which he recorded a child’s behavior over the past year as having been good or naughty. Sinterklaas is said to have been slowly transformed into modern-day Santa by 1700s Dutch immigrants in the New World.“But maybe there’s another story worth telling this season—one about a psychedelic mushroom-eating shaman from the Arctic.” That’s Matthew Salton, whose animated short film, Santa Is a Psychedelic Mushroom, presents a different origin story entirely. It’s a compelling narrative, backed by Harvard professors, anthropologists, and esteemed mycologists alike, and it bears an uncanny semblance to the modern tradition of Santa Claus.
short/animation
Monday, June 16th
3 pm- 5 pm

Santa Is a Psychedelic Mushroom

Director: Matthew Salton‍

Synopsis: An unexpected look into how the psychedelic puppets intervened with Albert Hofmann and jumpstarted the Cambrian Explosion of Mind!
Short/Animation
Monday, June 16th
3 pm - 5 pm

The Birth of LSD

Director and producer: Brad Necyk

Synopsis: Ever wonder what sparked human consciousness? The brothers Terence and Dennis McPuppet have a theory!
Short/Animation
Monday, June 16th
3 pm - 5 pm

The Stoned Puppet Theory

Director and producer: Brad Necyk

The Way of the Psychonaut explores the life and work of Stanislav Grof, Czech-born psychiatrist and psychedelic psychotherapy pioneer. Stan’s quest for knowledge and insights into the healing power of non-ordinary states of consciousness, influenced the discipline of psychology and profoundly changed many individual lives. One of those transformed by Stan is filmmaker Susan Hess Logeais. The documentary utilizes Susan’s personal existential crisis as a gateway to Grof’s impact, from the micro to the macro.
Feature Film
Monday, June 16th
6 pm - 9 pm

The Way of the Psychonaut: Stanislav Grof and the Journey of Consciousness

Director: Susan Hess Logeais

Dr. Roland Griffiths made a career of studying how the altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelics could advance psychiatry and neuroscience, and be an effective treatment for emotional pain. Cancer patients often reported similar experiences that were simple yet profound: a feeling of interconnectedness with others and nature, release from fear and anger and an awakening to the preciousness and mystery of life. Now confronted with his own cancer diagnosis, Griffiths uses what he has learned as a researcher to cultivate a sense of gratitude and set up a legacy of study into the wonder of being.
Short
Monday, June 16th
3 pm - 5 pm

This Is Where I Find Myself

Director & Producer: Andrew Hinton

Desperate for relief they can’t find at home, two first responders battling PTSD and depression travel to Mexico to undergo psychedelic therapy using medicines prohibited by U.S. law.
Short
Monday, June 16th
3 pm - 5 pm

When the Smoke Clears

Director: Mischa Schwartz & Maarya Zafar

A surreal conversation between Paul Stamets and Rick Doblin on non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Short
Monday, June 16th
3 pm- 5 pm

Psychedelic Puppet Show Presents Paul Stamets and Rick Doblin

Director and producer: Brad Necyk

Synopsis: Ever wonder how Paul Stamets gained his revolutionary mushroom insights and created the legendary Stamets Stack? Turns out, he’s been secretly guided by a motley crew of psychedelic puppets on a mission to expand consciousness and help our mental wellness—one spore at a time.
Short/Animation
Monday, June 16th,
3 pm - 5 pm

The Stamets Stack and the Psychedelic Puppet

Director and producer: Brad Necyk

Could psychedelic drugs hold the answer to our mental illness epidemic? In a ground-breaking feature length documentary, we follow the Principal Investigator as he stages a world first trial at Australia’s first clinical psychedelic laboratory. Exclusive access tracks the progress of the trials and the participants hoping psychedelic therapy is finally the answer to their anguish.
Feature Film
Thursday, June 19th
11 am - 1 pm

Psychedelics: Stepping into the Unknown

Director: Chris Phillips. Producers: Jacob Hickey, Darren Dale

Have A Good Trip 2: The Future of Psychedelics A sneak peek from the follow up to the #1 Netflix documentary about psychedelics that featured Ben Stiller, Sting, Carrie Fisher, Deepak Chopra, Sarah Silverman, A$AP Rocky, Adam Scott, Nick Kroll, Anthony Bourdain, and many more. Join the conversation, find out who’s in part 2 and find out how YOU can be a part of the sequel, which will dive into the current state of psychedelics and chart all the ways they can help us survive the future.PLUS a quick overview of Good Trip Studios current TV/Film production slate including the world premiere of "Trippy Toadz" animated TV pilot starring the voices Amy Sedaris, Abbi Jacobson, Ron Funches, Joe Lo Truglio and My Morning Jacket's Jim James, about the adventures of a family of Bufo toads running a psychedelic retreat center. And a look at “Love is the Drug”, a psychedelic couple's therapy show starring leading couples therapist and MAPS PS2025 keynote speaker Baya Voce.‍
Sneak Peek
Thursday, June 19th
3 pm - 5 pm

SNEAK PEEK: Have a Good Trip 2: Sneak Peek and More!

Director: Donick Cary Producer: Mike Rosenstein

THE PROPHET OF ECSTASY explores themes of art, politics and consciousness though the improbable life of Michael Clegg, the former Catholic priest who introduced MDMA to the world - a drug he would later dub ‘Ecstasy’. The documentary will take viewers on a wild ride, from Clegg’s life as an MDMA drug kingpin, to his present-day transformation as enlightened yogi. It also examines how the destinies of Michael Clegg, chemist Carina Leveriza, and psychedelics advocate Rick Doblin, are inexorably bound with that of the socio-cultural explosion of MDMA through its epic journey of discovery, criminalization, and re-emergence from the shadows.‍
Sneak Peek
Thursday, June 19th
3 pm - 5 pm

SNEAK PEEK: Prophet of Ecstacy

Directors: Elias Varoutsos & Karen Cho. Producers: Lori Braun and Sergeo Kirby, Laurus Productions Inc

Hidden away, deep in the suburbs of Los Angeles, legendary cult musician Swamp Dogg, alongside housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, have transformed their home into an artistic playground. Together, they navigate the tumultuous music industry, forging a unique and inspiring bond across time and space.
Feature Film
Thursday, June 19th
7 pm - 9 pm

Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted

Directors: Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson. Producers: Isaac Gale, Paul Lovelace, David McMurry, Ryan Olson, Ben Wu

Highly decorated Navy SEAL Marcus Capone returns from Afghanistan and attempts to readjust to civilian life. But years of unprecedented warfare have left Marcus with treatment-defiant PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression beyond what current government treatment options can effectively address. Fearing for Marcus’ life, his wife, Amber, finds hope in a groundbreaking therapy combining two powerful psychedelics unapproved for use in the U.S., but with seemingly limitless applications.Inspired by Marcus’ remarkable recovery but still confronted with the alarming rate of veteran suicide in their community, Marcus and Amber embark on a new mission: providing access to this lifeline. Alongside intimate interviews, captivating animation, and first-of-its-kind research at Stanford’s Brain Stimulation Lab, In Waves and War, from Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen (Athlete A, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power), is the emotional, inspiring odyssey of three American heroes as they overcome the aftereffects of war and rediscover their humanity.‍
Feature Film
Tuesday, June 17th
7 pm - 9 pm

In Waves and War

Directors: Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen. Produced by Jessica Anthony, p.g.a., Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen

In The Doors of Perception (1954), Aldous Huxley wrote that the urge to transcend self-consciousness was "a principle appetite of the soul." He hoped that psychedelics would make the experience of self-transcendence more widely available, and thereby catalyze a transformation in the culture.But experiencing ego dissolution is one thing; integrating it into ordinary life is another. And, as the misadventures of the 1960s attest, building a culture around self-transcendence is a perilous (if inspiring) endeavor. “Unraveling the Dream,” a new film presented by the Waking Up meditation app, explores whether the new science of psychedelics might shed fresh light on Huxley’s vision. Featuring original interviews with Anil Seth, Robin Carhart-Harris, and Shamil Chandaria, the film takes viewers on a sweeping journey to the frontiers of neuroscience and through the rich, turbulent history of psychedelics.Along the way, the film explores urgent and fascinating questions such as:- What can neuroscience tell us about how the mind constructs our sense of self and world?- What, if any, are the political implications of the psychedelic experience?- What is the difference between destroying the ego and truly transcending it?- How can meditation help one sustain the freedom of the psychedelic experience in the midst of ordinary life?
Feature Film
Tuesday, June 17th
11 am - 1 pm

Unraveling the Dream: Psychedelics, Meditation, and the Predictive Brain

Director: Jake Orthwein

WILD MAGIC is a kaleidoscopic road trip through modern mystical Americana, revealing the hidden magic that’s happening all around us. A living tribute to the glimmering pockets of light beneath the crumbling facade of the American Dream that invites viewers to slow down and engage with the unseen.
Feature Film
Tuesday, June 17th
3 pm - 5 pm

WILD MAGIC

Director: Sean Dunne Producer: Cass Greener

Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, is the scientist behind more than 200 psychedelic compounds including "MDMA," more commonly known as the drug Ecstasy. Shulgin is considered to be one of the greatest chemists of the past century, with his discoveries having had a profound impact on psychedelic research. Shulgin's life work has made him a curiosity of sorts, controversial among his fellow scientists and yet celebrated to the point of an almost "folk hero" status among those who embrace the use of psychedelics.Dirty Pictures goes inside the Northern California home of Dr. Shulgin and his wife of 40 years and where he continues to conduct experiments inside a makeshift lab that looks like something you might find alongside Val Kilmer in Real Genius. Dirty Pictures also goes inside the world of psychedelic research, where chemistry meets neuroscience meets philosophy, and explores the essential issue of whether or not such research may, in fact, contain a road map into further understanding of the human mind. Dirty Pictures premiered at SXSW in 2010, and has played at multiple festivals including Mountain Film Telluride, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Boston Independent Film Festival, BamCinemaFest and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film transcends expectations, serving to neither glorify drug usage nor for that matter taking sides on any of the myriad of issues that could potentially arise here. In most ways, Dirty Pictures is entirely centered upon exploring Shulgin's life work. Shulgin, who could pass for a slightly more disheveled Einstein, is perfect for the camera with a vibrancy that comes to life and an obvious passion for his research that remains to his day. While the film delves briefly into those who might oppose his work, for the most part Director Etienne Sauret focuses the film on Shulgin as we become privy to the inner workings of his home-based lab, experience a DEA raid and simply listen to this former Dow Chemical drug developer as he talks about the work that has consumed his life.‍
Feature Film
Wednesday, June 18th
11 am - 1 pm

Dirty Pictures

Director: Étienne Sauret. Producers: Étienne Sauret, Sebastian Saville, Lyle Howry, Christopher Frierson (co-producer)‍

An essay film about the mysteries of consciousness and communication channeled through neurophysiologist and “psychonaut” John C. Lilly, a daring experimenter with dolphins and psychedelics. Lilly’s motto — “My body is my laboratory” — carried him into realms of radical self-investigation, while his research also helped bring dolphins and whales into the collective dreamlife of the 20th century.
Feature Film
Wednesday, June 18th
7 pm - 9 pm

John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office

Directors: Courtney Stephens, Michael Almereyda

The astounding unknown story of what might be the scientific discovery of our generation. Back in 1962, a teenage psychonaut in New York City named Howard Lotsof experimented with an obscure psychedelic from the root bark of a West African shrub and recognized its unique therapeutic potential. Together with his African-American wife Norma, a pair of outsider NYU film students, they dedicated their lives to convincing the scientific community and government agencies to research it, certain that it would be of great medicinal benefit, despite it sounding too good to be true - like the textbook definition of snake oil - and being written off as con artists.Sixty years later, their dream is now materializing as clinics spawned from their original test sites have treated more than 100,000 people with opiate use disorder and now over 1,000 US Special Forces veterans, who have experienced dramatic relief from a spectrum of problems including traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, ptsd, addictions, and physical disabilities through the use of ibogaine. Now jaw-dropping new research, about to be published, is revealing that ibogaine is the most powerful therapeutic ever observed for the human central nervous system.
Feature Film
Wednesday, June 18th
3 pm - 5 pm

Of Night and Light: The Story of Iboga and Ibogaine

Director: Lucy Walker. Producers: Lucy Walker, Julian Cautherley, Lyn Davis Lear and Laurie Benenson

Subscribe to the PS2025 Newsletter To Receive Regular Updates On Our Conference, Presenters, Events, and Other Important Announcements.

Psychedelic
Science 2025
June 16-20
Denver, CO
Presented By
Contact
F.A.Q.
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
FAQ
About MAPS ↗
©2024 Psychedelic Science Events LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Inc. (“MAPS”), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. “Psychedelic Science” is a registered trademark of MAPS.