Hot Docs

Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and co-director Alison Ellwood serve up the ‘60s in this psychedelic road movie adventure, an acid trip on wheels. In 1964, Ken Kesey, celebrated author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, assembled a ragtag crew of friends and lovers known as the Merry Pranksters to take an LSD-fuelled road trip from California to the New York World’s Fair. Driven by none other than Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road muse, their ramshackle bus was tricked out with cameras to capture free-form impressions of America and the seemingly limitless drug-induced antics of its passengers. More than 40 years later, Gibney and Ellwood re-imagine Kesey’s original film, audio tapes and photographs into one of the year’s trippiest and most creative time capsules. Relax, man, and enjoy a truly Magic Trip.

Media Coverage

• Toronto Star review (top pick)
• Criticize This Hot Docs Preview