The Ultimate Guide to Ayahuasca Documentaries
Ayahuasca has catalyzed profound healing journeys for countless individuals. Many who possess talents in videography feel called to share their transformative experiences with the world, to answer the question:
“What is Ayahuasca and how can it help in modern times?”
This comprehensive guide showcases award-winning documentaries about Ayahuasca, organized by accessibility—free to watch or available for purchase. Whether you’re a curious seeker, researcher, or seasoned practitioner, these films offer invaluable perspectives on this sacred medicine.
An open dialogue between the individual and the retreat center is essential to determine the specific needs of the person and how those needs can or cannot be provided for. While Ayahuasca has gained attention for its potential therapeutic benefits, participating in ceremony with autism presents unique considerations that must be carefully evaluated on an individual basis.
Ayahuasca Documentaries
"What is Ayahuasca and how can it help in modern times?"
Winner of 6 Awards. Follows Tatiana Aya Tupinambá's path from trauma to healing.
Award WinnerEight people with eight illnesses journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle.
A holistic look at the medicine through the eyes of a first-time filmmaker.
Features Orlando Chujandama, a legendary Quechua ayahuasquero.
Explores the personal lives of the shamans behind the robes and rituals.
A naturopath and an accountant experience life-altering epiphanies.
Scientific investigation into the potent molecule found in nearly all living things.
A desperate search for healing as a young man battles severe depression.
Top RatedFeatures Dr. Gabor Maté and the meeting of Western medicine and indigenous wisdom.
Combat veterans use psychedelics to heal deep-seated PTSD and trauma.
An artistic cinematic experience that mirrors the medicine journey itself.
A stylish look at the modern renaissance of psychedelic research.
Experiential journalism that takes the viewer directly into the Amazon ceremony.
Comprehensive series exploring shamanic roots and modern awakenings.
Understanding the Documentary Landscape
The Peruvian Connection
Ayahuasca retreats first gained popularity in Peru, making it the epicenter for documentary filmmaking in this space. This created a halo effect where Western audiences began to strongly associate Ayahuasca with Peruvian traditions. More recently, documentaries exploring Colombian Ayahuasca traditions have also emerged, broadening the narrative. Last year at Harmonica Retreat in Colombia we did a documentary called “the war within” which will be showcased on various film festivals this year.
Common Themes
Most documentaries in this collection explore several core themes:
- The mental health crisis in Western society
- The limitations of conventional medical approaches
- Indigenous wisdom and traditional healing practices
- Reconnecting with nature and Mother Earth
- The journey inward through introspection and self-discovery
Free Documentaries
Curandera
Awards: Winner of 6 Film Festival Awards
A powerful documentary chronicling one woman’s incredible life journey—Tatiana Aya Tupinambá—and her path to overcoming childhood trauma through a deep relationship with Ayahuasca and plant medicine. Her transformative story led her to become an Ayahuasca curandera, dedicating her life to healing others.
The Sacred Science
Eight people. Eight illnesses. One journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle. They went looking for alternatives to the modern medicines that failed them. What they found would change their lives forever.
Watch Full Film: The Sacred Science Screening
The Nature of Ayahuasca
A spontaneously created documentary exploring the use of Ayahuasca as holistic medicine. The director shares:
“I was at this retreat for my own personal development and happened to have my camera with me. Halfway through the retreat I made a spontaneous decision to make this documentary during a conversation. I had never made a documentary before.”
Watch full film: The Nature of Ayahuasca
Aubrey Marcus: The Dragon of the Jungle
Maestro Orlando Chujandama, known as “El Dragon De La Selva” (The Dragon of the Jungle), is the torch bearer of a long and prestigious lineage of Quechua ayahuasqueros. As Aubrey Marcus’s first curandero and most honored maestro, this documentary tells a journey of healing through Ayahuasca while serving as a biopic for one of this planet’s living legends.
This Chakaruna Media documentary features Aubrey Marcus, Mehcad Brooks, Vylana Marcus, and Maestro Orlando, with direction by Max McCoy.
Watch full film: The Dragon of the Jungle
She is a Shaman
Lost between a sea of self-healing miracles and “watch-out-you’re-being-scammed” exposés is a whole universe of weird, fascinating gray areas: the lives of the shamans themselves. This documentary asks: Who is the person behind the shaman? What is their life actually like? When they’re not in robes and headdresses, what do they… do?
Watch full film: She is a Shaman
The Cost of Spiritual Healing in the Amazon
Nina is from the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, Ecuador. Speaking with the memory of her shaman grandfather, she addresses the ongoing cultural appropriation, environmental destruction, and marginalization of her people, questioning our very relationship to the Earth and the quest for healing.
Watch full film: The Cost of Spiritual Healing in the Amazon
Vine of the Soul
Can a sacred plant medicine from the Amazon heal our minds and spirits? In the heart of the jungle, a naturopathic doctor and an accountant experience life-altering epiphanies when they drink the psychoactive brew Ayahuasca, the ‘Vine of the Soul.’ This award-winning documentary explores the mystery of Ayahuasca shamanism, offering insights into the nature of spirituality, mystical experience, and self-healing discovered through an expanded state of consciousness.
Watch full film: Vine of the Soul
Ayahuasca: Expansion of Consciousness
This documentary tells the story of Ayahuasca from its emergence in the Amazonian Forest to its popularity with the Santo Daime religion, and on to its arrival in urban centers. Combining scientific, religious, and anthropological perspectives on the use of Ayahuasca in modern society, and in parallel with director Fausto Noro’s own healing process, this film provides a holistic yet balanced view of this controversial subject.
Watch full film: Ayahuasca: Expansion of Consciousness
Metamorphosis
Ayahuasca has been used by shamans and those they help for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This documentary follows several Westerners as they undergo five Ayahuasca ceremonies and experience the gamut of emotions—from utter fear to outright ecstasy. It explores the shamans who work with the medicine as well as all the key elements of an Ayahuasca ceremony.
The film also tells the story of Hamilton Souther, who earlier in life had no belief in spirit. After having a spiritual awakening, Hamilton is led to the Amazon where he apprentices as an Ayahuasquero. Hamilton and Maestro Don Alberto (an indigenous master shaman for over thirty years) take us through the ceremonies and explain the meaning behind them.
Watch full film: Metamorphosis
For the Love of Medicine
A mini-documentary from the Temple of the Way of Light highlighting the importance of personal healing for Western healthcare practitioners. In 2019, the Temple held a 12-day retreat for healthcare professionals with renowned physician, speaker, and best-selling author Dr. Gabor Maté.
A major reality surfaced during the retreat: healthcare professionals often don’t recognize their work’s negative impact on them as providers for cultural, systemic, and personal reasons. Nor do they have the support to resolve the consequences of working in such highly demanding and energetically damaging conditions.
Watch full film: For the Love of Medicine
Onanya: Indigenous Shipibo Culture & Sacred Medicine
This documentary explores the rich cultural heritage of the Shipibo people, their traditional medicinal practices, and the significance of Ayahuasca in their healing rituals. It delves into personal stories of healing, the role of shamans, and the challenges faced by the Shipibo in preserving their culture amidst globalization.
The film highlights the deep connection between the Shipibo and their natural environment, emphasizing the importance of traditional knowledge and practices in contemporary society. It also touches on the integration of traditional and modern healing practices, emphasizing the significance of education and awareness.
Watch full film: Onanya: Indigenous Shipibo Culture & Sacred Medicine
DMT: The Spirit Molecule
An investigation into the long-obscured mystery of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a molecule found in nearly every living organism and considered the most potent psychedelic on Earth. While not exclusively about Ayahuasca, this documentary provides crucial context for understanding DMT’s role in the Ayahuasca experience.
Watch full film: DMT: The Spirit Molecule
Drinking the Jungle
A cultural exploration and evocation of Ayahuasca—a medicinal plant with powerful psychoactive properties that has been utilized by cultures around the world for centuries. Now, people from all over the world are traveling to Peru to experience this fascinating medicine in its traditional context.
Documenting one such journey, this guerrilla documentary aims to artistically capture and convey the wonder of Ayahuasca through a singular transformational experience.
Watch full film: Drinking the Jungle
Premium Documentaries
The following documentaries are available for purchase or through subscription streaming platforms. While they require payment, many viewers find the investment worthwhile for their exceptional production quality and depth of content.
The Last Shaman
James gives himself 12 months before he has ‘a license to kill himself.’ He sets off to the Amazon rainforest with hopes of finding a shaman who can save his life. A raw and emotional journey documenting one man’s desperate search for healing.
Watch trailer: The Last Shaman
Where to watch: IMBD
Ayahuasca: The Jungle Prescription
Broadcast in November 2011 by CBC’s prestigious science show
The Nature of Things, this documentary tells of Ayahuasca, a visionary Amazonian brew of indigenous origin, and its encounter with the West as played out through the story of two doctors.
The first, Dr. Jacques Mabit, runs a legendary detox center deep in the Peruvian jungle in partnership with indigenous healers. The second, Dr. Gabor Maté, is risking his reputation trying to establish a similar program in Canada. Through intimate stories of these doctors and their patients, we see how an ancient medicine causes cathartic, life-changing insight.
Where to watch: IMBD
The Song That Calls You Home
A personal, scientific, and mystical exploration of Amazonian curanderismo, focusing on Ayahuasca and Master Plants, their healing and visionary properties and risks, along with the Shipibo people and their songs.
Watch trailer: The Song That Calls You Home.
Where to watch: IMBD
Down to Earth with Zac Efron
In this travel show, actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live. While not exclusively focused on Ayahuasca, the series includes episodes exploring plant medicine and indigenous healing traditions.
Watch trailer: Down to Earth with Zac Efron
Where to watch: IMBD
From Shock to Awe
An intimate and raw look at the transformational journey of two combat veterans suffering from severe trauma as they abandon pharmaceuticals to seek relief through the mind-expanding world of psychedelics. A powerful testament to alternative healing for PTSD.
Watch trailer: From Shock to Awe
Where to watch: IMBD
Ayahuasca Now
After many years of life marked by PTSD, men and women veterans of the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq travel to the Peruvian Amazon to participate in shamanic ceremonies to heal their traumas. Stories about war and spirituality intertwine in this powerful documentary.
Watch trailer: Ayahuasca Now
Where to watch: IMBD
The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms
Filmmaker Michael Wiese’s documentary meets the challenge of explaining the psychoactive visionary brew Ayahuasca to the uninitiated seeker with remarkable grace. Enchanting interactions in Peru with curandero Don Jose Campos and visionary artist Pablo Amaringo, recorded only months before his untimely death, are among the film’s brightest highlights.
Watch trailer: The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms
Where to watch: IMBD
Icaros: A Vision
A film shaped like a shamanic journey, steeped in a psychoactive brew, exploring fear and destiny in the jungle of the mind. This artistic interpretation offers a unique cinematic experience that mirrors the Ayahuasca journey itself.
Watch trailer: Icaros: A Vision
Where to watch: IMBD
Neurons to Nirvana
A stylish, in-depth look at the renaissance in psychedelic drug research in light of current scientific, medical, and cultural knowledge. This documentary provides valuable scientific context for understanding Ayahuasca within the broader psychedelic landscape.
Watch trailer: Neurons to Nirvana
Where to watch: IMBD
Aya: Awakenings
An experiential journalist ventures into the Amazon Jungle to discover the mysteries of a powerful visionary plant medicine and the shamans who work with it. A first-person exploration that brings viewers directly into the experience.
Watch trailer: Aya: Awakenings
Green River: The Time of the Yakurunas
Guided by Ayahuasca chants, this poetic journey into the depths of the Amazon explores the perception of time in three small villages intertwined by the flowing waters of the Amazon river. A meditative and artistic approach to documenting Amazonian life and spirituality.
Watch trailer: Green River: The Time of the Yakurunas.
Where to watch: IMDB
Psychedelica
A groundbreaking series (2 seasons, 21 episodes total) uncovering psychedelic plants’ impact on consciousness and humanity. Experts discuss politics, drawbacks, and settings. From shamanic roots to modern awakenings, explore how sacred medicine expands consciousness and influences humanity.
Featured Episode: Season 1, Episode 3 – “Ayahuasca: Journey into Infinity”
Where to watch: IMDB
Kantara
Sebastian and Pastora live in a Shuar village in Upper Amazonia of Ecuador. Sebastian is not only a respected healer but also a medicinal botanist who experiments with unknown plants. His unique practice seeks to reinvent new knowledge that reconnects him to his ancestors.
Pastora is one of the rare female leaders in Amazonia, who struggles to negotiate with local authorities for her community. With powerful plants such as Ayahuasca, they revive and energize their perception of the future while acquiring power and faith to cope with the obstacles they face.
Watch trailer: Kantara
Where to watch: IMDB
Ayahuasca and the Path of the Shaman
This is the story of a North American man who learns to work with the plant medicine Ayahuasca and the people he helps to heal. A personal journey documenting the path from student to practitioner.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Shamans of the Amazon
In a time when indigenous people, their culture, and the natural environment are experiencing dramatic changes, this program examines what Shamans of the Amazon, their hallucinogenic rituals, and their special relationship with nature have to offer humanity at this crucial time in history.
Discover how Westerners around the world are using Ayahuasca and other shamanic plants to receive knowledge and healing.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Ayahuasca: A Cosmos Journey
An exploration of the cosmic dimensions of the Ayahuasca experience and its connection to universal consciousness.
Watch trailer: Ayahuasca: A Cosmos Journey
Conclusion
This collection represents decades of filmmaking dedicated to documenting and understanding Ayahuasca’s role in modern healing practices. Whether you’re drawn to the scientific perspective, personal transformation stories, or indigenous wisdom, these documentaries offer invaluable windows into the world of sacred plant medicine.
As interest in alternative healing modalities continues to grow, these films serve as educational resources, cultural bridges, and invitations to explore the profound questions about consciousness, healing, and our relationship with the natural world.
FAQ around Ayahuasca documentaries
Are there free Ayahuasca documentaries available?
Yes, there are 15 high-quality Ayahuasca documentaries available for free on YouTube, including award-winning films like Curandera and The Nature of Ayahuasca.
What is the best Ayahuasca documentary?
Top-rated documentaries include The Last Shaman, The Sacred Science, and Curandera. Each offers unique perspectives on healing, shamanism, and plant medicine traditions.
Where can I watch Ayahuasca documentaries?
Free documentaries are available on YouTube. Premium films can be found on IMDB, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and specialized streaming platforms.
Are these documentaries suitable for beginners?
Yes, many documentaries like The Nature of Ayahuasca and Curandera are excellent introductions that explain the basics while sharing personal healing stories.
