Ecstatic

If someone told you a loved one could be in full recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after just 12 weeks, you'd be skeptical. 

Yet the FDA has fast tracked Phase III clinical trials for MDMA psychotherapy for treatment-resistant PTSD — a therapy that has resulted in 68% full remission for vets and first responders suffering from PTSD in Phase I and Phase II trials.

ECSTATIC concerns the unknown territory––and unprecedented medical models––ushered in by historic imminent legalization of clinical prescription of two substances classified by the DEA (US Drug Enforcement Administration) as Schedule I controlled substances under federal law, subject to various criminal penalties: MDMA or ecstasy (the psychoactive compound 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance obtained from certain types of mushrooms indigenous to parts of South America, Mexico, and the United States. Both MDMA and psilocybin have been shown to be highly effective in developing therapies to treat challenging mental health conditions, including substance abuse and addiction. But once psychedelics become legal for medical use, who will conduct responsible, thoughtful and careful treatment using them? How will “good” psychedelic therapy be defined, conducted, and regulated? 

Exploring these pressing questions, ECSTATIC follows five professionals - therapists and community advocates -- across the U.S., each of whom seeks to develop best practices for using MDMA and psilocybin. Each begins learning about MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin directly, experiencing profound personal turning points.

While regulations do not currently mandate that practitioners experience these drugs for themselves, many therapists believe it’s necessary to know the terrain first hand. The story arcs of the therapists undergoing psychedelic training intertwine to reveal their findings using these substances. All must navigate the cutting edge of cultural change and legal obstacles associated with incorporating psychedelics into their practices. Their intersecting stories reflect discoveries, insights, and concerns where currently little to no guidance exists. Each therapist begins to redefine what is necessary for psychedelics to be meaningful as they take biomedical norms to task. 

ECSTATIC is intended to raise questions for a curious public seeking to understand psychedelics from the perspective of passionately engaged professionals who care deeply about healing outcomes and medical justice. The documentary brings a fuller context to thinking about treatment modalities in relation to our broader culture, including the very institutions tasked with criminalizing psychedelics and those communities targeted by the so-called “War on Drugs.” ECSTATIC reflects a mood of reckoning at a crossroads in mental healthcare when psychedelic therapy is vulnerable to being hijacked by bad actors like Big Pharma and the DEA. Through each therapist’s shared journey and astute critical thinking, audiences will gain insights into an uncertain new era for a much maligned, misunderstood and mythologized field of practice.

Becoming newly licensed psychedelic therapists and facilitators in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Texas, California, and Oregon, these interwoven ensemble journeys mirror momentous transformation taking place within medicine. Psychedelics promise improved treatment of suicidal ideation, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and end-of-life care, as well as addiction, anxiety, and many other complex and difficult-to-treat conditions. But only if the right kinds of training for licensed therapists exists to develop responsible practices and only with support from the states in which they live as well as law enforcement. ECSTATIC is about how we, as a society, discuss and develop policies and practices to mitigate risks and achieve the most equitable access to healing using newly legalized forms of psychedelic therapy.

Directors: Paul Kloss and Kerthy Fix

Editors: Katrina De Vera and Toby Shimin

Asst. Editor: Christian Oliveira, Shilpa Kunnapillil, Jenn Stamps

Prod. Assistant: Faith Robinson

Consulting Editor Toby Shimin

Editor Toby Shimin began her film career as a sound editor, and switched to picture editing in 1988 when she cut THE CHILDREN'S STOREFRONT, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Since then, she has edited numerous films that have premiered at Sundance, including, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, which won a Peabody Award, A LEAP OF FAITH, MARTHA & ETHEL, MISS AMERICA, EVERYTHING'S COOL and the Sundance Audience Award winning films, OUT OF THE PAST, THIS IS HOME and BUCK, which was also short-listed for an Academy Award. Toby received the prestigious Documentary Editing Award at the Woodstock Film Festival for HBO's 32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE. ERNIE &JOE, won a Jury Prize at SXSW where it premiered in 2019 and her most recent film, BABY GOD was to premiere opening night SXSW, 2020. It will air on HBO later this year. Toby is a principal of Dovetail Films, a production and editing company she co-founded with Dina Guttmann in 2001. She continues to serve as a mentor for the Edit and Story labs at the Sundance Institute, is on the advisory boards of Full Frame and Hedgebrook and is co-curator of the documentary film series, Depot Docs.

Editor Katrina De Vera

Katrina De Vera is a documentary editor based in Austin, Texas. Her work includes the feature film "A Run For More" about a trans-woman who runs for City Council in San Antonio and assistant editing on the feature film "A Thousand Cuts", which premiered at Sundance 2020, as well as assisting on the observational feature "Pahokee" (Sundance 2019). Her latest film, “Kapwa Texas” premiered in May 2023 at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Asst. Editor Shilpa Kunnappillil

Shilpa Kunnappillil is an Indian-American documentary filmmaker and editor based in Brooklyn, NY. In her films, she explores womanhood through themes of identity, family, and culture, often focusing on South Asian communities. She was selected as a 2019 Firelight Documentary Lab Fellow and a 2019 NeXt Doc Fellow for her feature documentary in production, The Road to Sabarimala. She currently works as an assistant editor for documentaries and docu-series.