Plot

This film focuses on ayahuasca as a healing therapy for body and mind, and shows how you can engage with this therapy to improve your quality of life.

There will be many personal stories in presented in this film. Shamans and apprentices will tell us about their background, how they got started with ayahuasca, and why they decided to begin the long and difficult journey toward becoming a shaman. They’ll tell us about the diseases and psychological problems they’ve overcome through their use of ayahuasca, and they’ll tell us the stories of some of their most personally transforming visions. We’ll hear additional stories of visions from guests at the ayahuasca centers as well.

Unlike other documentaries about ayahuasca, this film will not be structured around a narrative that follows the personal journey of a main character or characters. That has already been done well by others. Rather, this movie will be structured as a course geared toward a beginner with ayahuasca. With a how-to approach, the main character is actually you, the viewer. It will answer basic questions a beginner would have such as:

• Is ayahuasca shamanism what I need for my own healing process?
• How do I choose the right shaman and center to go to?
• What do I need to know before I go?
• How do I get to the jungle?
• What can I expect one I’m actually there?
• What’s the best way to conduct myself as a foreign traveler to Peru?
• What is the experience of being in an ayahuasca ceremony really like?
• What does a shaman really do?
• How can I get the most out of the entire healing and personal growth process?
• How can I best give something back to benefit the rainforest and the indigenous people and others who live there?

The movie will be presented in 3 parts, Preparation, Purgation, and Integration. Onto this structure will hang the various personal stories of people’s experiences with the medicine.

Part 1: Preparation

Teaser

The film opens in complete darkness. We hear three sudden deep rumbling bass-heavy sound effects that build the tension and anticipation, each one louder than the one preceding it. At the sound of the third boom, a cigarette lighter is lit, and in the light of this solitary flame, we see a shaman lighting her mapacho (wild tobacco cigarette used for healing.) The flame goes out, and all we see is the glowing tip of her lit mapacho. In a moment, we hear the shaking of her chacapa (leaf rattle) and a few moments after that, the shaman begins singing icaros (spirit songs). The mapacho goes out, and we return to total darkness, as the chacapa sound and icaros continue.

You hear me speaking in voice-over, “the first thing I remember seeing was…,” and I continue telling the story of my first ayahuasca vision while a brightly colored animated depiction of that vision fades in. At the end of that vision, we see the movie’s logo, Destination Ayahuasca: A Travel Guide to the Spirit World, as the icaro reaches a crescendo.

Intro

We cut to a shot of me introducing the theme of the film. I say a few words about ayahuasca as ancient approach to healing and spiritual growth that has attracted many people from around the world who now flock to new centers that have been built for the purpose of introducing international travelers to shamanic ayahuasca ceremonies. I continue narrating in voice-over as graphics show South America, highlight the Amazon Rainforest region, highlight Peru as the country we’ll be going to in the film, and then highlight the cities of Iquitos and Pucallpa as the destinations. Graphics show that to get there from outside of Peru, one must first fly into Lima. We see some shots of the Lima airport (especially the Migracion line), and Lima. I show how to withdraw Peruvian currency from an ATM or exchange it (crisp, unmarked bills only, please!) I show the hotel at the airport, or for the budget-conscious traveler, I recommend an inexpensive hotel in the tourist-friendly Miraflores district. For the very budget-conscious traveler, I show the best places to sleep in the airport.

Graphics show the plane route over the Andes, and we see some shots of the Pacific Ocean, the mountains, and the jungle out of the airplane window. When landing in Iquitos, I remind the viewers to expect sudden, extreme heat upon disembarking from the plane. I show myself meeting the people from one of the ayahuasca centers who came to pick me up at the airport. After some shots of a mototaxi ride through Iquitos, I show several hotel and hostel options in the vicinity of the Plaza de Armas district. We see some of the restaurants and the riverbank. This intro section is short and goes by at a brisk clip, in order to spend more of the movie’s time at the centers.

The Ayahuasca Centers

We board a boat, and graphics show the route upriver to the center. We see plenty of the jungle on the banks of the river. This part of the film showcases one ayahuasca center at a time. We are greeted at the shore, followed by some shots of the grounds, the guest rooms, the dining room, and the ceremonial maloca. I show whether that center has flush toilets or composting toilets. We are introduced to the center by the head English-speaking person who works there. He or she says a little about that center and what makes it unique.

For the rest of the film, we cut back and forth frequently between the different centers. Since I’m working off a the same questionnaire in each interview, after I ask each question, I show how people at different centers answer it. Usually, they say similar things that reinforce a consistent message, while occasionally, as with questions about diet, there is a variety of answers that shows the diversity of traditions of working with the medicine. The interviews focus on good advice for choosing a shaman, getting to the jungle, guidelines for diet and sexual abstinence, and the mental preparation one must go through before a ceremony.

We are introduced to the shamans. The shamans talk about what led them into this career, and why they’re still doing it now. We see scenes of the jungle as the shaman collects the ayahuasca vines, tree bark, and other plants to make the brew. We see the vine being pounded and the pot cooking over and open fire. We see the brew get filtered and boiled down until it’s finally ready for the ceremony.

Part 2: Purgation

Countdown

The sun sets in time-lapse, and darkness envelops the land. Candles and kerosene lamps are lit. The malocas get set up for the ceremonies. We see the quiet, reflective time preceding the ceremony. The interviews discuss skipping dinner before a ceremony, how long before a ceremony to stop drinking water, and ceremony etiquette.

The Ceremony

We enter the ceremonial malocas and see lit candles, and the guests and the shamans find their seats. The shamans pour the medicine and the guests begin to drink it. Then the lights go out, and the icaros begin.

The interviews discuss the role of icaros, the different kinds of purges, what purging does for a person, issues of dosage, last minute doubts, and the importance of surrender. We learn what tobacco means to an ayahuasca shaman. We cover what to do if you become afraid during a ceremony, and how to interpret the sometimes confusing symbolism that you see in the visions. We cover some tangible issues as well such as how not to step in your puke bucket on the way to the toilet, and when to ask for help, and what kinds of help a shaman can provide.

We get deep into the content of the visions, their interactive nature, communication with the spirits, and the need to investigate what you see. Meanwhile, animated scenes complement the points that are spoken in the interviews. We get to see what people really see in an ayahuasca ceremony. This part of the movie is the longest.

We see the end of the ceremony 4 hours later, when normality has resumed for most and everyone shuffles off to bed.

Part 3: Integration

The sun rises in time-lapse. It’s the morning after the big ceremony, and time for the guests to receive their flower baths at some centers, or swim in the river at other centers. The interviews discuss how you can take the wisdom you gained in the ceremonies and apply it to your everyday life. We talk about how many ceremonies you might need to heal a particular ailment, and the next steps you could take if you feel called to become a shaman yourself.

We pack up and leave the center, board the boat, and travel back to the airport. We catch the final glimpses of the jungle from the boat. The jungle fades from view out of the window of the plane as we discuss how to keep connected to the medicine inside you, and when you might decide to come back for more.

We see images of highways, skyscrapers, and shopping malls in the United States. We hear a quiet icaro in the background. A shaman appears in front of all these images, singing icaros. Another appears, and another. Their icaros are layered on top of one another, until every shaman that was interviewed is singing simultaneously. The scene cuts to a dry lake bed. the ground cracks, and a hole opens up. Ayahuasca vines grow out of the hole and transform the arid terrain into a rainforest. More vines emerge from the hole, forming a celtic knot in the shape of a heart. The vines inflate and turn red until they form into a giant red heart, still connected to the Earth. The faces of the all the shamans, still singing icaros orbit the giant heart. The shamans disappear, the icaros stop, and we see and hear the giant heart beat three times, with the same sudden, deep rumbling bass-heavy sound effects we heard at the very beginning of the movie.

THE END

The mission of this film is to demystify ayahuasca shamanism as much as possible, and present it as a normal method of healing and personal growth. The truth is that authentic shamans are now more easily accessible than ever for Westerners, and this movie will show just how easy it is for anyone willing to tolerate some heat, humidity, mosquitoes, vomiting, and serious self-exploration. After watching this movie, some people who never thought they’d touch ayahuasca will decide that they want to try it too, and those who were on the fence might find a new determination to actually go through with it. Even those who never personally encounter ayahuasca will gain some vicarious benefit just from watching. This movie will help to raise awareness of ayahuasca’s power to heal and transform lives for the better when used responsibly in a shamanic context.