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Ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew from the Amazon, has been used by indigenous shamans for millennia to heal, vision, and communicate with the divine.

In collaboration with Amazonian tribes and contemporary scientists, Ayahuasca Diaries, a feature documentary by filmmaker Maxi Cohen, anticipates the future of ayahuasca in a distinctive groundbreaking style. From the ways the psychedelic elixir transforms personal lives to how it’s changing world culture and helping save the Amazon, Ayahuasca Diaries is for both the curious and well-seasoned. 

Ayahuasca Diaries explores how ayahuasca is used by Amazonian tribes from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia, the on-the-ground protectors of the Amazon who are being annihilated, and how ayahuasca seekers from the capitalistic modern world impact them (positively, negatively, complexly).

The arc of this unusual film takes us from its deeply personal impact to its global influence and outcomes. Beginning with what is mind-bogglingly humanly possible and the intimacies of extraordinary healings the film dives into a deep understanding of shamanism and the multiple aspects of ceremony in a way that initiates integration. It explores our complex relationship with indigenous people, the call for sacred reciprocity, and reveals the startling evidence of scientific research and FDA approval of a clinical trial in the USA. While the indigenous battle their governments and climate change, modern world ayahuasca journeyers have had their lives transformed, guided to help save the amazon and the indigenous people in ways that have made huge strides to demarcate territories and change laws.

Besides Amazonian spiritual leaders from many different tribes, psychiatrists, scientists, doctors, anthropologists, experienced partakers and others illuminate the depths of this elixir used for healing, visioning and communing with the Divine. Icaros, indigenous music, and visuals from indigenous camera people, cinema verité, reportage, and animation advance and enrich the narrative.