Descending the Mountain
Nov 11, 2021 | IMDB 7
78 min Watch NowDocumentary
What happens if you give magic mushrooms (psilocibine) to experienced Zen practitioners who have never used drugs? What does that teach us about the mystical experience of oneness with nature? Based on these questions, psychiatrist Franz Vollenweider and Zen master Vanja Palmers set up a legal science experiment in a monastery at the top of Mount Rigi in Switzerland. Exactly 50 years after the magic mushrooms were officially banned, a new story begins in what is now called the “psychedelic renaissance”. While in 2021 most studies with psychedelics mainly focus on their promising medical applications, Frans and Vanja are already going a step further. Can the combination of meditation and psilocibin help humanity get out of the mess we have created on ourselves and the planet with our neo-liberal society?
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Neurons to Nirvana
LSD: The Beyond Within
Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods
Like It Is
Sleeping Monster
Be-In
Reconnect: The Movie
Daedalus
The Psychedelic Experience
CircleSpeak
Dosed
Tree
Kusama's Self-Obliteration
Acid Delirium of the Senses
Idea
Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness
Swinging Light
Madeleine (a short film)
Todos tienen algo Desierto
Running Fields IV
SIMILAR MOVIES
Neurons to Nirvana
IMDB 6.9 | Oct , 2013
Through interviews with leading psychologists and scientists, Neurons to Nirvana explores the history of four powerful psychedelic substances (LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA and Ayahuasca) and their previously established medicinal potential. Strictly focusing on the science and medicinal properties of these drugs, Neurons to Nirvana looks into why our society has created such a social and political bias against even allowing research to continue the exploration of any possible positive effects they can present in treating some of today's most challenging afflictions.LSD: The Beyond Within
IMDB 5.5 | Jan , 1986
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.Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods
IMDB 7 | Oct , 2010
Philosopher, pop-icon, shaman and story teller - as one of the most influential comic book writers in the market today, Grant Morrison is all of these things. His explosive and often controversial 30 year career has made him a household name for comic fans, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Morrison's career is now taking a new turn, as he explores media beyond comic books. With film and television projects on the horizon, more and more people are asking "Who is Grant Morrison?" Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods is a feature length documentary that takes an in depth look at the life, career and mind of the man behind such pivotal titles as Batman RIP, The Invisibles, All Star Superman, The New X-Men, and many more. Featuring candid interviews with Morrison and his most important collaborators, Talking with Gods reveals an intelligent and thought provoking side of comic books that is often overlooked in Hollywood adaptations.Like It Is
IMDB 5.3 | Jul , 1968
This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.Sleeping Monster
IMDB 0 | Aug , 2023
Filmed in Melbourne during the first several months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sleeping Monster explores the prosaic beauty of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s studio routine. Featuring demos from the album "Changes", plus the track "Change" recorded live in the studio on film.Be-In
IMDB 5 | Feb , 1967
Captures the spirit and essence of the great San Francisco Human Be-In of January 14, 1967. Ten thousand people imbued with peace, love and euphoria. Set to hard rock such as only San Francisco blues can produce. BE-IN contains Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Timothy Leary, Michael McClure, Lenore Kandel and Buddha. Music by Blue Cheer.Reconnect: The Movie
IMDB 8.2 | Dec , 2019
Back in 2012 I had my very first Ayahuasca ceremony and, needless to say, I was terrified. But it ended up entirely changing my life and that of my future family. Which is why I decided to revisit the medicine in 2018, participating in three Ayahuasca ceremonies over the course of one week in Costa Rica, and document the process. In the film, we tackle my personal story of trying to build London Real into a global media and transformation company while also struggling with my own disconnection from friends, family and my own species. We also dive deep into the division and tribalism currently facing all of us around the world.Daedalus
IMDB 10 | Jul , 2024
"Fly too high and you will burn, go too low and you won't breathe." Shot in just seven consecutive days during the summer of 2023, it concludes the first volume of Bliss, a playlist of sounds and shapes. Daedalus delves into the perilous dance between striving for something and the suffocating pull of stagnancy. This chaotic structure bridges the warnings and epiphanic thoughts of 20th-century thinkers with the lives of today's dreamers.The Psychedelic Experience
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1965
Experimental movie, where a man comes home and experiences LSD. His kaleidoscopic visions follow, with readings inspired by the Tibethan Book of the Dead.CircleSpeak
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2005
Shot in Southern England over the course of six weeks by a crew of three American filmmakers, CircleSpeak offers a nuanced look at the passions and beliefs of the people immersed in the crop circle phenomenon during the season of 2001. This feature-length documentary presents interviews with serious “researchers”, self-proclaimed “hoaxers”, local farmers and villagers who are all, in one way or another, involved in this strange and compelling summer spectacle taking place year after year.Dosed
IMDB 8.2 | Dec , 2019
The documentary follows one woman's quest to overcome anxiety, depression, and opioid addiction through the use of psychedelic medicines.Tree
IMDB 0 | Feb , 2010
Structural study of a tree. Light, water and air coax it out of the soil in a manner foregrounding time’s relativity to different forms of life on Earth. Made the day my brother got his fork-lift license.Kusama's Self-Obliteration
IMDB 6 | Dec , 1967
A film exploration of the work and aesthetic concepts of Yayoi Kusama, painter, sculptor, and environmentalist, conceived in terms of an intense emotional experience with metaphysical overtones, an extension of my ultimate interest in a total fusion of the arts in a spirit of mutual collaboration. —Jud YalkutAcid Delirium of the Senses
IMDB 4 | Feb , 1968
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.Idea
IMDB 9 | Dec , 1968
The Bee Gees preform in this special created for German TV. Also featured are Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, and the Trinity, and Lil Lindfors.Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness
IMDB 6.5 | Dec , 2019
Take an animated journey into the depths of the human mind, exploring three psychedelic trips that changed Western culture forever. Sixty years later we sit down with twelve leading current thinkers to ask: "What can expanded states of mind teach us about ourselves, the world and our place in it?"Swinging Light
IMDB 5 | Mar , 2025
An experience of a camera swinging in different gestures facing the optical distortion of the Sun. The last appearance of the smudge.Madeleine (a short film)
IMDB 10 | Feb , 2025
A stop motion/collaged based independent short film plays with the recontextualisation of memories and how time distorts them.Todos tienen algo Desierto
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2011
Documentary-essay short film about a inner/outter trip to the flowery desert in the north of Chile. A student film by Gabriel Lizama AKA Liz Taylor.Running Fields IV
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2024
Twenty-four images of a camera running in the woods, a moonlight and a cemetery through improvised gestures, mechanical abstraction and saturated colors