A scene from Amy Louise Doherty’s VR experience GHOST CAM. Image supplied.
You’ve got to be pretty game to take ayahuasca – a potent hallucinogenic brew which can lead to an intense spiritual awakening in the user. But can you experience some semblance of its potency through virtual reality?
Director Jan Kounen was so inspired by his experience with the medicinal plant, which he likens to a ‘virtual reality experience’, that he attempted to recreate it through the short VR film Ayahuasca (Kosmik Journey) now on at Melbourne International Film Festival. The film offers up an immersive experience that takes the participant on a hallucinogenic trip led by a shaman, and uses vivid and intense colours along with music and chanting to transport the viewer into a spiritual world.
