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 two distinct types of grants:
Feature-Length Documentary 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).
Short-Form Documentary Grant:
Up to five documentary filmmakers will be awarded up to $10,000 each for the production of of a short-form documentary (40 minutes or less)
*We encourage student filmmakers currently enrolled in a graduate program to apply to the Short-Form Documentary grant. Please see FAQs for more information on student film eligibility. The application deadline has been extended to October 13, 5:00 pm PT.
The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship is a project of the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Our People
2026 Selection Committee
Mia Bruno
Mia Bruno is a distribution producer and founder of Fourth Act Film, supporting independent films through distribution releases without taking rights. Fourth Act partners with film teams to manage theatrical booking, marketing, sales, non-theatrical distribution, and awards campaigns, reflecting today’s flexible, innovative, filmmaker-driven models. Focusing on transparency and filmmaker agency, Mia helps teams understand costs and tradeoffs so distribution becomes a deliberate creative phase rather than a reactive process.
Carrie Lozano
Carrie Lozano is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist and media executive. She is the former President and CEO of ITVS.
Prior to ITVS, she was director of the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film and Artist Programs, launched and directed the International Documentary Association's Enterprise Documentary Fund, and was a documentary executive at Al Jazeera America and senior producer of the Emmy, Peabody and Headliner Award-winning investigative series "Fault Lines."
In addition to serving on ProPublica's board of directors, Lozano serves on the advisory boards of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and PBS Frontline, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Pete Nicks
Peter Nicks is an award-winning cinematographer/director known for his immersive camera work and cinema vérité style. He helmed the critically acclaimed documentary THE WAITING ROOM, which was shortlisted in 2012, followed by THE FORCE, recipient of the Sundance Director’s Prize in 2017. HOMEROOM, winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, completed his trilogy of timely, immersive docus exploring the interconnected narratives of health care, criminal justice and education in Oakland, CA. Nicks recently released ANTHEM, a feature documentary that follows composer Kris Bowers on a journey to create a new American anthem. His most recent film, UNDERRATED, chronicles the coming-of-age story of Bay Area superstar Stephen Curry. Nicks co-founded Proximity Media with fellow Oakland-based filmmaker Ryan Coogler and is on the board of trustees of the Sundance Institute. He received his B.A. in English from Howard University and his masters in journalism from UC Berkeley.
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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