A documentary of the Cottage Studio in Hamilton Ontario, Canada. The
studio has been operating at St Paul's Presbyterian church in
downtown Hamilton as a place where those with serious mental
illnesses can go to pursue art. Over the years, the program has grown
and is now operated by the Hamilton Program for Schizophrenia Family
Association. A grant from the Trillium Fund enabled them to renovate
an historic cottage on the church grounds into a proper studio.
The
artists at the Cottage Studio had the opportunity to prepare for and
hang a show of their work at an opening at the Gallery
on the Bay
in Hamilton at the end of June 2009.
The
documentary deals with their preparation for the show, the show
itself, and in-depth interviews with three of the artists.
While the story is about the preparation for a serious gallery
opening for these artists culminating in the opening itself, the
interviews will explore the very issue of schizophrenia, the lives of
the people it affects and the role of artistic expression in their
recovery.
The film is distributed exclusively in Canada by Moving Images Distribution in Vancouver but is available outside Canada from Amazon either for purchase or via online streaming (coming soon) Amazon
TRAILER
2 SCHIZOPHRENIA IN FOCUS
IA 54 minute documentary created by
psychiatrist and filmmaker David Laing Dawson. Dawson has been
investigating schizophrenia for over 30 years as a psychiatrist,
scientist, as well as a writer and filmmaker. Using excerpts from his
previous writings and films, dramatizations and first person accounts,
as well as an interview with Dr Richard O'Reilly, a professor of
psychiatry at the University of Western Ontario, the film explores the
nature of this disease.
Walter tried to kill himself and failed, so he decided to tell his
story instead. Finding an abandoned theater, he stands on the stage
alone and recounts his descent into mental illness, into schizophrenia.
Created by a psychiatrist who has worked for many years with
schizophrenic patients, this compelling dramatic monologue presents an
accurate depiction of a devastating, costly, much maligned, and
misunderstood illness. This program has been screened at film festivals
and professional conferences, including the American Psychiatric
Association Annual Meeting, and was well received by doctors and nurses
as well as patients and their families. (53 minutes). available from
18
year old Philip Renold finds himself locked in a Mental Hospital. He
doesn't understand why his family has abandoned him, why his
friends have turned against him. He struggles to find his
way through the horror that has become his life and it all seems
hopeless until he meets a young woman also suffering from
schizophrenia. An engrossing psychological thriller and an accurate
and honest depiction of serious mental illness.
critics
say: "riveting" and "a far truer and rawer depiction
of schizophrenia than you have seen before."
