Psychedelic Research in Amazonia

David Čálek’s documentary Doctor on a Trip follows the ground-breaking research led by Dr. Tomáš Páleníček and an international team of scientists. They have a very ambitious goal – to test whether psychedelics can help where traditional medicine fails. In order to verify their laboratory findings, they travel to the Amazon rainforest, where they meet the Huni Kui community that has always regarded psychoactive plants as a natural part of their lives. The film will be screened on Wednesday, July 30, at 8:45 a.m. in Mír Cinema and the following discussion will be part of the New Reality block. Director and cameraman David Čálek explores the alternative psychedelic treatment of mental illnesses. The interviews with the people suffering from depression are interspersed with the footage from the international scientific expedition that explored traditional ayahuasca rituals in the Huni Kui community in the Amazon rainforest. The encounter of two different cultures has high scientific value, but it also reveals the roots of modern civilizational diseases. It leads to a search for lost rituals, life in community and shared spiritual experience in today’s European society. The discussion with the director and other guests will be supported by the latest findings of Psyon and the National Institute of Mental Health. The complete list of our guests will be announced soon.