Доктор Хоффман и велосипед (A Bicycle Trip)
A Bicycle Trip (2008), animated short film by Lorenzo Veracini, Nandini Nambiar and Marco Avoletta, three students of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
Sound Design: Thomas Giorgi. Music: “O’zittre nicht mein lieber sohn“ from ’s “The Magic Flute“, re-elaborated by Roberto Boarini.
© Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia 2008
#“Bicycle_Day“
In 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann was synthesizing a new compound called lysergic acid diethylamide-25 when he got a couple of drops on his finger. The chemical, later known worldwide as LSD, absorbed into his system and soon after he experienced an intense state of altered consciousness. In other words, he tripped.
Intrigued by the experience, Hofmann dosed himself with 250 micrograms of LSD and then biked his way home through the streets of Basel on April 19, 1943, making him the first person ever to intentionally drop acid. Nowadays, psychonauts and LSD enthusiasts commemorate the event every April 19th, on what’s called “Bicycle Day.”
Italian animators Lorenzo Veracini, Nandini Nambiar and Marco Avoletta imagine what Hofmann might have seen during his historic journey in their 2008 short A Bicycle Trip.
The film shows Hofmann riding through the Swiss medieval town as he sees visions like a trail of flowers coming off a woman in red, cobble stones coming alive and scurrying away, and a whole forest becoming transparent before the marveling scientist’s eyes. The film also shows Hofmann slamming into a fence, illustrating why it’s never a good idea to drive under the influence of hallucinogens.