Santa Monica|Featured Event
PEAKING: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness (Film Premiere)
PEAKING: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness, a new documentary from 10-time Emmy Award-winning director Jordan Kronick, opens this Friday, October 2, at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica.
The film takes viewers inside real psychedelic experiences as they happen, following professional athletes, military veterans, people struggling with addiction, trauma survivors and others exploring psychedelics in connection with healing and recovery. PEAKING looks at psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, MDMA, ibogaine and Bufo, while experts including Rick Doblin, Robin Carhart-Harris and Heroic Hearts Project founder Jesse Gould provide context on the science and evolving psychedelic movement.
Featured participants include two-time Stanley Cup champion Daniel Carcillo and former NHL player Stephen Johns, along with military veterans and others whose experiences are documented on camera. The film also examines the history of psychedelics, from their criminalization in the 1960s to their growing presence in medicine and public conversation.
The Friday, October 2 screening will be followed by a special Q&A featuring documentary participants Thomas Wyatt, a retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and Chalvia Brown, a former U.S. Air Force veteran and trauma survivor.
Tickets and showtimes are available through Laemmle Monica Film Center.