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 awards at two distinct funding levels:
Student Fellowship
Three $10,000 Fellowships will be awarded to short form documentaries by student filmmakers currently enrolled in a film or journalism program.
General Fellowship
Two $25,000 Fellowships will be awarded to early- and mid-career filmmakers to support the development and production of a short or feature length documentary project.
We accept projects at three stages. Access to participants and locations must be secured regardless of the stage of the project.
- Active Development: Unearthing information and shaping your initial idea into a focused story.
- Pre-production: Planning all the logistics such as budgeting, scheduling and securing interviews.
- Early Production: Filming has commenced. Less than 50% of footage has been shot.
We accept two types of documentaries:
- Short form: 20 to 40 minutes
- Feature length: 41 minutes to a maximum of 150 minutes in length
The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship is a project of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
Our People
2024 Selection Committee
Peter Nicks
Peter Nicks is an award-winning cinematographer/producer/director known for his immersive camera work and cinema vérité style. His critically acclaimed feature documentary The Waiting Room won an Independent Spirit Award and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2012. The Force - the second in a trilogy of timely, immersive documentaries exploring the interconnected narratives of health care, criminal justice and education in Oakland, CA - won the 2017 Sundance Directing Prize. Homeroom, the final film in the trilogy, won the inaugural Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. 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.
Jon Shenk
Jon Shenk (director) recently co-directed the Oscar-nominated film, Lead Me Home (Netflix). Previously, he co-directed Athlete A with his film partner, Bonni Cohen. Athlete A (Netflix) was selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. Jon co-directed and photographed An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Participant Media/Paramount) which premiered on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, was shortlisted for the 2018 Oscars, and was nominated for a 2018 BAFTA for Best Documentary. In 2016, Jon co-directed and photographed the Peabody Award-winning film Audrie & Daisy (Netflix), which premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. In 2011, Jon directed The Island President (Goldwyn Films), winner of the 2011 TIFF’s People’s Choice Award and IDA’s Pare Lorentz Award. Jon was awarded the 2004 Independent Spirit Award for directing Lost Boys of Sudan (Shadow Distribution/PBS), served as the DP for the 2008 Academy Award-winning Smile Pinki, and won an Emmy for Blame Somebody Else (PBS), 2007.
Carrie Lozano
Carrie Lozano is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist and media executive. She is currently 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.
Faculty & Staff
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is a professor at the graduate school at UC Berkeley and the author of nine books, including 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 and at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
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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