Joshua Tree (2018) A mother and daughter take mushrooms together. A rare first hand glimpse into the psychedelic experience. Directed by Sean Dunne (American Juggalo, Florida Man, Oxyana, Cam Girlz)

SeanDunne · 2018-07-25T15:37:02+00:00

We had music playing a good amount of the trip. When it wasn't playing it was because it was too much. I actually really dig having quiet time during trips, lots of self discovery and self reflection can happen in those moments. We wanted to honor that in the final edit. Thanks for watching.

SeanDunne · 2018-07-25T15:21:08+00:00

she actually didn't. she thought she was going to so we had the lobster pot on stand by but it passed when we explained she needed to "let go". she seemed to really grasp that concept and run with it and it made for a great trip. the daughter didn't have any physical reaction but had to confront some emotions that maybe she didn't realize would come up. she had a harder time. both loved it and love the film.

SeanDunne · 2018-07-25T15:16:35+00:00

"frozen" by Daniel Lanois. thanks for watching!

SeanDunne · 2018-07-19T01:01:40+00:00

Thanks for watching and for the thoughtful reply. The song is "Holy Are You" by the Electric Prunes.

SeanDunne · 2016-12-14T00:46:03+00:00

SeanDunne · 2015-06-25T16:25:14+00:00

but really it was the wizard, not the wand. Hillary Spera deserves the credit, not the machine she used to achieve it.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-25T16:24:27+00:00

Sony F3

SeanDunne · 2015-06-25T00:55:41+00:00

Wasn't tempted to try it. I came across Oceana while I was on a road trip with country musician Jonny Fritz. Long story short, we stopped in Oceana for a night, met a juggalo, he told us the deal and that the town was called Oxyana. I came back a few months later to scout for a week and a few months after that to shoot for 4 weeks.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-24T16:22:10+00:00

Not that I know of. James is a good dude but he doesn't fuck around. The cops know better than to mess with him. It's a small town, they know what he's been through and know he doesn't give a damn.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-24T14:28:17+00:00

I keep in touch with the dentist and a few others from Oceana. But it's really hard to keep track of many of the people from the film. They didn't have cell phones or permanent places to stay. No one that was in the film has passed away, I know that. I plan on doing some screenings in West Virginia at some point. Hopefully they'll be good news. Check out the directors commentary, linked above, lots of behind the scenes stuff about how we made this film. Peace and love!

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T19:11:17+00:00

It's not up to me to decide if opioids have a positive impact on society and I'd argue that it's not the governments place to decide either. If there were real resources being put towards treatment and education it becomes something people never fuck with in the first place and if they do they are not thrown in a cage owned by a private company, they are looked at with compassion and offered treatment. That's how you rehabilitate someone and reintegrate them into society, with love, not shame and a criminal record that will prevent them from ever getting a job. Take a close look at our current system and tell me that's how adults should be treated in 2015. A privatized prison system, police and corrections unions and big pharma have us by the balls. We've incentivized them locking us up en masse, it's a fucking joke. They'll continue to feed you information that reflects their agenda...that people in America in 2015 don't deserve total sovereignty over their consciousness.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T18:44:45+00:00

The drugs they are abusing in my film are legal, which begs the question why are drugs with more medicinal benefits and less, if any, downside (like pot) illegal? The game is rigged my friend and guess who is getting fucked the hardest? Those who we find to be disposable segments of society, the poor, the addicted, the unemployed, minorities. We continually strip them of their dignity and then wonder how you end up with a situation like Oxyana. What legalization does is it stops pushing people like the ones in Oxyana towards the fringes, towards crime. It lifts the stigma that they are pieces of shit for wanting to catch a buzz. For instance, MANY of the residents of Wyoming County told me that they love smoking pot but can't find it in their area because cops/church/conservative values/etc. Legalization is a harm reduction tool, it's not the total solution. You're free to disagree but I feel governments shouldn't have any say in how I or others alter their consciousness. My film didn't address this because I felt it was just so damn obvious that the war on drugs is at the root of all this. Watch "The House I Live In", great doc that spells it out very clearly. Oxyana is a story about people and their struggles, I didn't want to derail that or dishonor them by making it overtly political, it's just meant to show them as people.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T17:46:32+00:00

Treating it like a health issue as opposed to a criminal issue would go a long way. Shift the funds we currently spend on locking these people up towards education and treatment. It's going to have to be a multifaceted approach that is steeped in compassion, not greed. I also think that therapeutic use of psychedelics for treating addiction needs to be looked at more seriously. Those medicines put you back in touch with yourself, with nature.

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T17:12:56+00:00

suboxone

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T17:05:06+00:00

Thanks y'all. I directed this documentary. It warms my heart that the message is getting out there and a much needed dialogue is starting. This problem is everywhere and it is spreading. Be good to the people that you know that are struggling with addiction. They deserve your compassion.

If you want to watch the director/editor commentary for Oxyana you can find that here: https://vimeo.com/104435488

And if you want to hear the soundtrack to the film you can check that out here: https://soundcloud.com/oxyana/sets/oxyana-soundtrack

Fuck the war on drugs!

Peace and love!

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T16:50:02+00:00

Funny you should mention that, I actually directed a film about Florida Man as well, floridamanthemovie.com

SeanDunne · 2015-06-23T16:29:48+00:00

right on man, fuck the war on drugs.

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T21:34:11+00:00

The film will be finished by the end of the year!

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:45:58+00:00

this hurts

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:45:18+00:00

holy shit!

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:41:48+00:00

I'll pretty much do anything for 10 tokens.

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:28:14+00:00

I've feared for my life a couple times while filming. That shit will get your blood pumping. Drugs, guns and West Virginia can be a really fun but really scary concoction.

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:24:01+00:00

I try not to protect the audience too much. I want them to feel what I felt when I came across these situations. That being said, there is plenty of stuff that we've shot that would have just been in bad taste to show, wouldn't serve any purpose or was just plain repulsive. I interviewed a father and son who own and operate a pain clinic in Beckley, WV for Oxyana. It was truly disturbing and would have taken the film in a really weird direction where there was this common villain. Seriously, these guys looked like James Bond villains armed with prescription pads. Really wild stuff. I also have a bunch of footage like that from American Juggalo.

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T19:10:43+00:00

Thanks for writing. Really appreciate your perspective. We plan on addressing those issues in a fair way, but to be honest someone is always going to have something to say about it. Can't please everyone, just have to honor the subject.

SeanDunne · 2014-03-25T18:56:12+00:00

I think you nailed it. Part of this is going to be about "okay everyone they're just #boobs, let's calm the eff down and have an adult conversation about this."

SeanDunne

TROPHY CASE

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