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Descending the Mountain (2021)

Genre : Documentary

Runtime : 1H 18M

Director : Maartje Nevejan

Synopsis

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?

Actors

Vanja Palmers
Vanja Palmers
Himself
Franz Vollenweider
Franz Vollenweider
Himself
Sister Theresia  Raberger
Sister Theresia Raberger
Herself
Dr. Peter Gasser
Dr. Peter Gasser
Himself

Crews

Maartje Nevejan
Maartje Nevejan
Director
Annette Badenhorst
Annette Badenhorst
Producer
Monette de Botton
Monette de Botton
Producer
Bohdana Tamas
Bohdana Tamas
Producer
Gys Zevenbergen
Gys Zevenbergen
Editor
Cosmo Sheldrake
Cosmo Sheldrake
Music
Jean Counet
Jean Counet
Director of Photography

Trailers and other movies

Descending the Mountain | Trailer

Posters and backgrounds

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Descending the Mountain
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?
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