The Substance : Albert Hofmann's LSD (Original version with French subtitles)

Directed by

Martin Witz

Produced by

Ventura Film

Documentary, Switzerland, 2011, 90 min

In 1943, the year in which the first A-bomb was built, Albert Hofmann discovered LSD – a substance that was to become an A-bomb of the mind. It is the story of a drug – its discovery in the Basle chemistry lab, the first experiments by Albert Hofmann on himself, the 1950s experiments of the psychiatrists, the consciousness researchers, the artists… Could it actually be possible to find a path to the core of our human existence by means of a chemical? Do the enigmatic effects of this drug really help us to better understand the human soul? … Could LSD be an instrument of contemporary psychiatry? Of modern brain research? “The Substance” turns out to be a journey through time in broad cinematic arcs, with archival material from private sources that have not been released before, newly processed international archives and principal witnesses of the historical events – and obviously Albert Hofmann, the main character who has his say time and again, interviewed shortly before his death.

Debate with :

• Nicolas Bonnet, chemist, director of RESPADD
• François Beck, Statistician and sociologist in charge of Departement Des Sciences Humaines National de Prévention et de l'Education pour la Santé (INPES)

Know more

• Find out more about the film on its official website.