The Sunshine Makers

The Sunshine Makers is a vivacious, inventive, and mind-expanding 2015 documentary film. Directed by Cosmo Feilding Mellen and narrated by Psychologist, Author and Broadcaster Nicholas Sand, it navigates a fascinating journey headed by two resilient, divergent individuals, Tim Scully, a trained Chemist, and Nick Sand, a self-taught Psychonaut, each with an unwavering passion to explore a hidden facet of psychological capacity and its social implications, through the medium of psychedelics.

Emblematic of the late 60s and early 70s counterculture movement, the film profiles these two renegade adventurers who, dwarfed by the mission of expanding the human race's collective consciousness, enthusiastically immerse themselves in the labyrinth of manufacturing potent psychedelic substances. The narrative primarily pivots on the synthesis and distribution of LSD, or 'Orange Sunshine', the substance that became synonymous with the Summer of Love and Woodstock, and attained a cult status within the global psychedelic fanbase.

Both Scully and Sand begin as idealists, driven mainly by the belief in the transformative power of psychedelic experiences they themselves went through. They crave to unearth and disseminate this 'secret knowledge' hidden within the higher cognitive functioning of the brain, hitherto masqueraded by the conventional social fabric. Their belief rests on the notion that LSD has the potential to shift perceptions and paradigms, fostering peace, love, unity, empathy, and understanding among the human race; considering it as a possible antidote to the contemporary world's menacing woes.

The Sunshine Makers delves deep into their odyssey, from the inception of their daring endeavor, the establishment of their clandestine underground laboratory, and the subsequent distribution of the drugs en masse, under the moniker "the Brotherhood of Eternal Love." Remarkably, this duo was responsible for an unprecedented amount of LSD production during that era, leaving an indelible impact on the cultural zeitgeist.

Featuring a host of interviews, archival footage, pictures, authorized wiretaps, court documents, psychedelic art, and animations, this film is an absorbing account which molds the 60s counterculture, the war on drugs, the hippie movement, and the ability of substances to alter consciousness through the lens of our protagonists' perspectives. Interestingly, Sand and Scully completely accept and describe their adventures, expressing no regrets for their actions inspite of the inevitable run-in with law enforcement and subsequent jail time.

Peerless in its attention to detail, the documentary augments the personal narratives with critical perspectives, offering an overview that takes the account beyond a mere yarn of drug-production escapades and rallies. It poses significant questions about societal constructs, personal freedoms, the nature of consciousness, and societal attitudes towards substances.

Striking vividly the political nerve, the film traces the emanation and evolution of the war on drugs, shadowing the trajectory of stringent measures that culminated to counteract the counterculture movement. It presents a nuanced side of what its detractors perceived as a grave societal threat through this enlightening tale of the bold crusade of Scully and Sand.

Infused with enthralling storytelling, The Sunshine Makers, eventually, is a trippy ride that grapples with the major moral, socio-political, and philosophical issues surrounding our understanding of consciousness.

As Sand's words in the documentary succinctly summaries it, "We were LSD evangelists. We gave out LSD to people who didn't even want to take it." It is a nebulous phantasm of an arduous journey that dwelled within the heart of experimental consciousness, seeking to revolutionize humanity and transform the world towards a better understanding of itself.

This superbly-directed film offers viewers an intriguing and in-depth look at the tumultuous nevertheless exciting era of countercultural consciousness, the ethos of the time, the whirlwind of idealism, and the underground psychedelic revolution led by two enigmatic, audacious dreamers. An unforgettable narrative opens up - one that is wildly immersive, emotive, informing, provocative, and above all, evocative of the sunshine that once upheaved and illuminated an entire era.