In late August and early September the Australian Psychedelic Society (APS) will be hosting premier screenings of the award-winning documentary, 'From Shock to Awe' in Adelaide, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Melbourne and Sydney. The APS thanks Vasudhara, Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine (PRISM) and Aadii Mesh Foundation for their sponsorship and collaborative events in helping produce these events.
The film follows the journey of two combat veterans struggling with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who abandon ineffective pharmaceuticals for psychedelic substances in an attempt to relieve their suffering.
Struggling with anxiety, depression, anger, and an overall inability to find equilibrium in society and with their families, Matt Kahl and Mike Cooley, decide to venture into the Amazon to partake in a weekend ceremony of ayahuasca consumption – an indigenous brew traditionally used for healing and spiritual insights.
With the ceremony bringing about profound revelations for the soldiers about their experiences and trauma, they must then learn to integrate these lessons into their life as they return home.
To gain a better understanding of their husbands’ journeys, Matt’s wife Aimee and Mike’s wife Brooke then too embark on their own psychedelic healing journey with ayahuasca and MDMA respectively.
With one in four people suffering from some form of mental illness this year, our current psychiatric model has proven drastically ineffective in treating this pressing health crisis. Psychedelic medicines now represent a revolutionary and life-changing new treatment paradigm that may potentially address the shortcomings within our current mental health system.
Researchers at some of the top universities in the United States such as Johns Hopkins, NYU and UCLA are publishing scientific papers that show a startlingly high level of efficacy using psychedelic-assisted therapy for a range of conditions, from end-of-life anxiety to depression to addiction to PTSD. Over the past decade in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have approved clinical trials for a number of psychedelic substances with promising results.
Confirmed speakers at the screenings include Mitch Schultz, producer of ‘From Shock to Awe’ and Director of ‘DMT: the Spirit Molecule’, and Major Steve McDonald, war veteran and co-founder of Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine (PRISM). More speakers TBA.
Screening Times & Locations
Byron Bay - Sunday August 18th, from 2.30pm - 5pm at The Byron Theatre, Byron Bay.
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Brisbane – Saturday, 24 August from 1:30pm - 4:30pm at Kindler Theatre, Queensland University of Technology.
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Adelaide – Saturday, 31 August from 14:30 – 18:30 at Mercury Cinema, 13 Morphett St, Adelaide.
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Sydney – Saturday 7 September from 12:30 – 16:30 at Giant Dwarf Theatre, 199 Cleveland St, Redfern.
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Melbourne – Saturday 14th September from 12:30 – 16:30 at The State Library of Victoria Theatrette, Melbourne.
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