About the Fellowship
The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship aims to empower a new generation of filmmakers exploring the burgeoning field of psychedelics. We're looking for groundbreaking narratives fit for cinematic storytelling – untold stories that captivate audiences and shed light on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. We're committed to fostering a diverse pool of filmmakers to document this rapidly changing field.
The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship will offer three distinct types of grants:
Research & Development Grant:
Three documentary filmmakers will be awarded up to $10,000 to support the research and development of a feature-length documentary (more than 40 minutes).
Production & Post-Production Grant:
Three documentary filmmakers will be awarded up to $20,000 to support the production or post-production of a feature-length documentary (more than 40 minutes).
Student Grant:
Up to two student filmmakers at an intermediate level or above and enrolled in a U.S. based undergraduate or graduate level film or journalism program will be awarded up to $5,000 for the production of a short form documentary (10-40 minutes).
Please see FAQs for more information on student film eligibility.
The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship is a project of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Our People
2025 Selection Committee
Dana Merwin
Dana Merwin is a producer specializing in artist development for narrative and documentary films. She served as Program Officer at the International Documentary Association, where she co-led the Enterprise and Pare Lorentz Documentary Funds and mentored filmmakers in collaboration with the Sundance Institute, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and Double Exposure Film Festival. She also worked as the Production Manager on Al Jazeera America’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning investigative series, “Fault Lines”. Merwin’s passion for live performance led her to co-found NewNow, an Oakland arts space dedicated to experimentation and creative exchange.
Jon Shenk
Jon Shenk is an Academy Award®-nominated Director and Cinematographer, as well as the co-founder of Actual Films. Recent work includes directing In Waves & War with his partner Bonni Cohen, and directing and producing The White House Effect - both of which premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. Jon also was the Cinematographer for Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore which premiered at Sundance 2025. Prior he co-directed the Oscar®-nominated short film Lead Me Home, which premiered at Telluride and is a Netflix Original. Previously, Shenk and Bonni Cohen co-directed Athlete A (Netflix), which won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and was nominated for five Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, winning for Best Sports Documentary.
Before that Shenk co-directed and lensed An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Participant), which premiered on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival. The film was shortlisted for the Oscars and was a BAFTA nominee for Best Documentary. Prior to Actual Films, Jon did in-house documentary work for LucasFilm and graduated from the Stanford Documentary Program. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Doc Branch.
Noland Walker
Noland Walker is a television executive and co-programmer of ITVS’s Independent Lens series on PBS. Prior to being an executive, he was an award-winning writer, producer, and/or director of documentary films including “Africans in America”, “Citizen King”, “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple”, and “Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story”. At ITVS, Walker has led project and talent development efforts and contributed to the editorial work of dozens of ITVS films including “Third Act”, “The Inquisitor”, “I Am Not Your Negro”, and “Natchez”. He is the Executive Producer of ITVS’ streaming docuseries, “Dallas, 2019.”
Faculty & Staff
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is Professor Emeritus at the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley and a founding faculty member of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. He is the author of nine books, including A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (forthcoming), How To Change Your Mind and This is Your Mind on Plants. His previous books include Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, all of which were New York Times Bestsellers. The Omnivore's Dilemma was named one of the ten best books of the year by both The New York Times and The Washington Post. Pollan teaches journalism in the English department at Harvard University.
Misha Schwarz
Misha Schwarz is a visual storyteller interested in the intersection of social justice, trauma, and healing. She is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied documentary filmmaking. Prior to attending graduate school, she was a creative executive at Scott Budnick's 1Community, a production company and co-finance fund for socially impactful films. She also worked on the documentary film adaptations of Michael Pollan's books, The Botany of Desire and In Defense of Food, at Kikim Media. Her photos have been published in The New York Times and SF Chronicle.
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