The Shaman and the Scientist
A documentary by Fritz Ofner
In Production – expected release: 2026
Script & Director: Fritz Ofner
Cinematography: Peter Garmusch
Editor: Annette Brütsch
Production: Dokusan Film in Co-production with Mirafilm
Producer: Fritz Ofner, Susanne Guggenberger
Funded by: Filmfonds Wien, Innovative Films Austria, ÖFI+, Cine Art Steiermark, Filmstiftung Zürich, BAK, Stadt Basel, Passage Antenna, Vinca Film
In 1962, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann traveled to southern Mexico to meet the Mazatec shaman María Sabina, seeking to explore the therapeutic potential of mind-altering substances. Sixty years later, this encounter—and Hofmann’s research—form the point of departure for a film that investigates the healing effects of psychedelic drugs through the experiences of two protagonists.
In María Sabina’s homeland in Mexico, magic mushrooms have been used by shamans for centuries. Luz hopes that this ancestral practice can help her ease the pain of her neuralgia. Meanwhile, in a psychiatric hospital in Hofmann’s native Switzerland, Saskia is participating in a pioneering clinical trial using LSD. After years of struggling with treatment-resistant depression, she hopes that the study will finally offer her a path toward healing.
Can these substances open up new ways to treat psychological suffering?