Premiering on Netflix Nov. 3, 2025, “In Waves and War” offers an intimate look into the private lives of Navy SEALs and their families as they embark on a revolutionary model of healing with psychedelics in the aftermath of combat and trauma.
Directed by award-winning filmmakers Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen (“Athlete A,” “Lost Boys of Sudan,” “Audrie & Daisy”) of Actual Films, the documentary follows the lives of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) founders Marcus and Amber Capone and two retired Navy SEAL teammates, Matthew Roberts and D.J. Shipley, as they discover the transformative power of psychedelic-assisted ibogaine therapy to combat treatment-resistant PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression.
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“We think the film offers hope for anybody who has experienced trauma of any sort, and it brings much-needed attention to issues of mental health, especially within the veteran community, which is suffering from a suicide epidemic,” shared Shenk and Cohen in a press release for the film. “In many ways, this is the most complex film we have ever made. We had the incredible privilege to work intimately with Navy SEALs and their families who are unaccustomed to opening up.”
From the perspective of Western medicine, psychedelics are still a new option for healing; it’s rather intriguing to hear about some of our nation’s most tested heroes traveling to Mexico to seek treatment for their trauma. Indeed, the documentary promises that their journey will find the men rescuing one another with “powerful psychedelics whose unworldly effects shake them to their core and open a path toward healing.”
With so many veterans suffering from service-connected trauma and depression, a breakthrough in healing modalities promises hope. The film itself follows first-of-its-kind scientific research, unfolding in real time from the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab, that gives credence to the treatment and inspires hope for a future in which its use can extend into and beyond the veteran community.
“At the cutting edge of psychedelic science and wellbeing, the treatment brings astonishing relief to the pain these men and their families have long endured, often in silence,” reads the press release. “Ibogaine—believed to also address, if not altogether reverse, issues of addiction and other trauma—is sending shockwaves of hope through not just the veteran community, but also across the spectrum of people suffering debilitating psychological disorders.”
(Actual Films)
“In Waves and War” premiered at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival in 2024 to critical acclaim. Utilizing a unique animation style to present the vivid journeys that the SEALs experienced under the influence of psychedelics, the film appears to be visually and thematically impactful.
Check out “In Waves and War” on Netflix now, and to learn more about the film, visit https://www.inwavesandwarfilm.com.
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