Rak Razam

AYA: Awakenings  is an audiovisual journey into the world and visions of ayahuasca shamanism produced by the Undergrowth collective. Adapted from the book 'Aya: a Shamanic Odyssey' by Rak Razam (Icaro Publishing), this experimental documentary has evolved from a live audiovisual performance created as part of a book tour in California in late 2009 which blended spoken word, atmospheric sound design by Buttons Touching and hypnotic psychedelic visuals mixed with documentary footage and photography by video artist Tim Parish (Verb Studios).  After two popular performances, it was also invited to perform at the Evolutionary Temple at Burning Man Festival 2009 in Nevada. In 2010 an early version of the documentary was performed at the Cairns Winter Solstice festival in Australia.

The final  “video book” ("vook") merges narration gleaned from select chapters of the book with interviews and innovative sound design, taking the audience on a journey into the jungles of Peru, where the practice of traditional shamanism has an unbroken lineage to the present day. The documentary utilizes interviews with practicing curanderos, and incorporates traditional icaros or magic songs, photographs and video recorded in Peru, mixed with traditional patterns to reproduce the visions seen through the ayahuasca trance.

The project is aimed at funding six high-definition final short videos, already roughly assembled from the tour, which need final animation, sound and video editing mastering, to complete a 90-120 minute “video book” (vook) / DVD, which will also be available as discreet clips for the iPhone and iPad.

Your support will directly fund cutting edge animators, and pay the video editor, sound designer and artists whose artwork and photos are sampled in the clips, as well as operating costs in getting these clips finished and released to the public. The first two clips are draft completed and were video shorts before the recent Mitch Schultz "Spirit Molecule" documentary tour Down Under in Dec 2010, see http://undergrowth.org/spiritmoleculetour ) and are breathtaking works. Unlike the plethora of indy ayahuasca documentaries coming out, these show the experience from the inside out, alongside a memoir-narrative that guides you through the journey into Peruvian shamanism and helps make sense of it.

To read the critically acclaimed book the video series is based, on, please visit:
http://www.ayathebook.com

And to view some of the video editor's work (Verb) visit
http://www.undergrowth.org/fiat_lux_evolutonary_vision_words_by_hugo_video_by_verb
http://www.undergrowth.org/time_waits_written_and_directed_by_timothy_parish_verb_studios

Whether you're into ayahuasca culture, shamanism, or just support the creative work of Rak Razam and the Undergrowth Collective making consciousness-raising media, we're calling on your help now to become a supporter. Help us get the url of this Pozible project out to the world through your social media and other online community connections, and, most importantly, to support us by donating to the project - and being reciprocally rewarded!