An immersive journey into psychedelic filmmaking and altered states is currently unfolding as a kaleidoscopic celebration of consciousness-expansion.
The Psychedelia & Cinema series at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) commenced on Mar. 1 and will be captivating viewers until May 10. The program pairs visionary features with experimental shorts to probe how the essence of film can trigger perceptual shifts and inner voyages.
Standout titles capture the psychedelic spirit of the series. Roger Corman’s 1967 counterculture staple The Trip, starring Peter Fonda and scripted by Jack Nicholson, screened in a pristine new 35 millimetre print on Mar. 5.
On Thursday, Mar. 19, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) will transform the theatre into a metaphysical journey. The show is completely sold out. Several other mind-bending motion pictures from a collection totalling 25 will be lighting up the screen in the coming weeks.
Many evenings will feature live introductions by scholars, psychedelic authors like Michael Pollan, and filmmakers including Nathaniel Dorsky.
Curated with support from the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, the series reframes the “cinematic trip” as a tool for liberation and self-discovery rather than mere spectacle.
BAMPFA has long championed experimental cinema’s power to challenge reality. Curator Kate MacKay notes that this program builds on over a decade of perceptual explorations.
“The films in the series might represent something that’s like a cinematic trip or it might be the kind of cinema that was once tripped out to,” MacKay said this week.
“It takes us on a lot of journeys; every movie is its own doorway, its own universe.”
While BAMPFA has no prior dedicated psychedelic series, the initiative fits seamlessly into its spring season of boundary-pushing programming. The partnership with UC Berkeley’s psychedelic science centre that brought this to life bridges artistic vision and inquiry into consciousness.
It also resonates with California’s enduring psychedelic legacy. Today, amid the so-called psychedelic renaissance, the state sees accelerating momentum. This includes local decriminalization in the Bay Area, expedited research approvals for veterans’ mental health studies and state advocates eyeing a 2026 ballot push for therapeutic access to psychoactive compounds.
Events like next month’s Psychedelic Culture 2026 conference in San Francisco, organized by the Chacruna Institute, are a reflection of this environment.
Join me March 1 for the screening of “John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office” at @BAMPFA. I’ll be in convo with the filmmaker after the movie. This is opening day for the @scipsychedelics film series. Tickets on sale now at https://t.co/VE5RWDlmny
— Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) February 7, 2026
Read more: Psychedelic retreat organiser charged with manslaughter over 2021 incident
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