The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival has announced the award winners for its sixth annual event, which featured a lineup of science fiction, horror, and fantasy films, music videos, and panels with filmmakers. Screenings were from October 20-22 at the Producers Club Theaters in Midtown Manhattan. 

The event recognized 10 official selections for outstanding filmmaking, storytelling, and music. 

BEST PSYCHEDELIC FEATURE

• The Child of Plomo (2021)
• Director: Daniel Dávila, Chile, 67 min

Waking from a mysterious dream, Mateo drags Scarlett, his babysitter, away from the Andean ski resort where he’s spending the holidays with his parents in search of an unknown place. His quest becomes Scarlett’s as the call of the mountains intensifies. Pristinely poetic, the film illustrates a major Inca ritual, bridging past and present.

BEST TRANSPERSONAL DOCUMENTARY

• Biognosis (2022)
• Director: Greg Hemmings, Canada, 32 min

The McKenna Academy’s BioGnosis project aims to renovate and digitize an immensely important collection of 150,000 biological specimens currently housed at the Herbarium of the Amazon in Iquitos, Peru. The herbarium includes vital knowledge on how the indigenous people use the plants for healing.

BEST PSYCHEDELIC DOCUMENTARY

• Onanya (2022)
• Director: Paris Tume, UK, 63 minutes

In the verdant, lush jungles of the Amazon, a tribe of indigenous people has lived in harmony with their surroundings for millennia. The Shipibo tribe has learned the secrets of the earth, honing their knowledge to transform the native flora into powerful medicines that can cure any sickness.  But their peaceful existence is threatened.

BEST PSYCHEDELIC HORROR

• Alone Together (2023)
• Director: William Kresch, USA, 94 min

After fleeing their pandemic-ravaged city for the safety of a remote family cabin, a physically and emotionally abused woman and her volatile boyfriend are forced to face the vengeful spirit that haunts it — and each other.

BEST PSYCHEDELIC/TRANSPERSONAL SHORT

• I Am What You Imagine (2023)
• Director: Matthew Modine, United States, 7 min

This short film is a sensual exploration of the unexplainable. Featuring the voice talents of Ruby Modine and long-time Kubrick collaborator Leon Vitali in his final performance, the short uses sound, music, and expressionistic imagery to take viewers on a journey of the heart and mind.

BEST PSYCHEDELIC SCI-FI/SUPERNATURAL SHORT

• Lux Chroma (2022)
• Director: Kwokyong Ng, Malaysia, 11 min

Zac is not just an ordinary digital colorist who color grades videos, he is able to see human’s aura and “color grade” their aura to heal them.

BEST ANIMATION

• Dying on Amanitas (2023)
• Director: Charlie Goulet, USA, 15 min

Experiencing death by a gunshot, while on the Amanita Muscaria mushroom.

BEST FOLK/TRANCE SONG

• Polychron Plus feat. Anna Domino’a Pocketknife (2022)
• Director: Domenico Morreale, Italy, 4 min 

“Pocketknife” is the music video for Polychron Plus’ song featuring Anna Domino, taken from the album Polychron+ “She’s always been there.”

BEST PSYCHEDELIC BAND/SONG

• Acid King – Beyond Vision (2023)
• Director: Dalan McNabola, United States, 8 min

Inspired by “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Carl Sagan, and LSD, the video asks what would happen if instead of the Voyager Golden Record, the new Acid King record was sent off into space?

BEST PSYCHEDELIC TRANSPERSONAL SCREENPLAY

• The Messiah Machine
• Writer: Thomas Mercer, United States 

Two former lovers, Thea Marias (an accomplished neuroscientist) and Juan Baptista (an anthropologist and shaman’s apprentice) navigate a world of political and religious intrigue, where the fate of an A.I. super-computer holds the promise of unlocking extraordinary powers and profound spiritual enlightenment.