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This Sundance Film Festival Audience Favorite, shot partially here in Rochester at St. John's Home, is a moving documentary chronicling the remarkable story of how social worker, Dan Cohen, was able to awaken memories -with carefully personalized playlists on re-purposed IPods - for thousands of Alzheimer's patients and others suffering from memory loss, dementia, severe anxiety or other ailments.

What started as a pilot program at four New York long-term care facilities is now in 10 different countries at 4,500 sites. Twenty-one states have made Cohen's Music and Memory program part of their public policies, and musical artists such as Elvis Costello, Carole King and Kenny Chesney have come on board to champion this breakthrough.

Special Guests: Robin Lombardo, CTRS, MS, CDP, Northeast Regional Director, Music & Memory, Joy Kaminski, MT-BC, Board Certified Music Therapist, Rochester Psychiatric Center, G. Allen Power, M.D., Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation, Schlegel—U. Waterloo Research Institute for Aging, Ben Lee, M.D., Chair, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Anne McKenna, St. John's Home

This screening was preceded by FORGET ME NOTS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Special short concert by the Forget Me Nots, made up of members of the Lee family. Father Ben Lee is the new Chair of the Psychiatry Department at the University of Rochester Medical School. 

Documentary, 44 minutes, 1994.

Director: Deborah Hoffman  

With profound insight and a healthy dose of levity, Deborah Hoffman’s Oscar-nominated documentary chronicles the various stages of a mother's Alzheimer's Disease and the evolution of a daughter's response to the illness. Neither depressing nor medical, the film is a life-affirming exploration of family relations, aging, change, the meaning of memory and love. 

Documentary, 24 minutes. 

Directed by Philip Brubaker, Bigger Boat Productions.

Special guests: 

MIKE VENY, Motivational Speaker,

OC87 Recovery Diaries

GABE NATHAN, Editor-in-Chief, OC87 Recovery Diaries

Elyse Capell, MS, LCAT, Licensed Art Therapist 

Charmaine Wheatley, visiting artist

Evelyn Cammanaro, local artist

Special juried art exhibit curated by the Mental Health Association’s Creative Wellness Opportunities; Executive Director: Veronica Weider; Art Consultant: Leslie Werlin.

BRUSHES WITH LIFE: ART, ARTISTS & MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental illness and creativity have been linked for many years. In Brushes with Life, eight artists who struggle with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and other brain disorders talk candidly about how their art helps them heal. All the artists are brought together by the Brushes With Life art gallery, which shows only work by artists with mental illness.

Screened with:
OC87 RECOVERY DIARIES - Selected Shorts
DOCUMENTARY, various lengths. Produced and directed by Bud Clayman & Glenn Holsten. OC87 Recovery Diaries presents four short films that tell dramatic and powerful stories of mental health recovery. A young woman with bipolar and Aspergers Syndrome finds an intimate connection with horses, a man bravely interviews his own depression, and two women touched by mental illness miraculously take flight in these life-affirming films.

Documentary, 86 minutes. Directed by Thomas Murray; 2010.

 Special guests:

 Film subject Christopher Murray & filmmaker Thomas Murray

Emmy Award-winning writer Thomas Murray tells the complex and compelling story of his family’s journey to ensure his brother Christopher, diagnosed with Autism, lead a fulfilling and independent life. Unfolding against a backdrop of paternal Bipolar Disorder and Depression, Christopher’s emergence as an acclaimed artist is an intensely moving story that is ultimately about the triumph and strength of the human spirit. 

   Follows visiting artist Charmaine Wheatley as she connects with people through capturing their image and thoughts onto painted portraits that celebrate the complexity of their lives and puts a face to those living with mental illness. Directed by Don Casper.  

Documentary, 58 minutes, 2009.

Director: Justin Thomas Rowe  

 This compelling documentary tells the story of three talented artists with schizophrenia as they search for identity, acceptance and recovery through their unique and thought-provoking art. A treat for the art history buff, the film explores how artists like Van Gogh reached brilliant (if terrifying) heights when their psychiatric symptoms were peaking. Very much a study in hope, the film shows how contemporary artists can work not only to channel their psychiatric experiences into transcendent art, but can nourish their mental health in the process. 

   Documentary, 72 minutes, 2017.

Co-directors: Robert Rooy & David James Savarese 

Animation: Em Cooper Words: David James Savarese 

Special guests:

 DJ Savarese, Dr. Lori Jeanne Peloquin, Rachel Rosner, AutismUp

Abandoned by his birth parents and unable to speak for himself, DJ Savarese ("Deej") found not only a loving family but also a life in words, which he types on a text-to-voice synthesizer. As he makes his way through high school and dreams of college, he confronts the terrors of his past, obstacles to inclusion, and the sometimes paralyzing beauty of his own senses. In his advocacy on behalf of other nonspeaking autistics, he embraces filmmaking and poetry, and discovers what having a voice can truly mean.Through the first-of-its-kind collaboration between veteran filmmaker Robert Rooy and a nonspeaking young man with Autism, the film is a story told largely from the inside – by DJ, and not by his parents or autism experts or even the camera. At its core, Deej reflects the level of participation that disability rights advocates insist upon: "Nothing about us without us."

  Documentary, Spain, 33 minutes, 2018. 

  Directed by John English & Tom Garner  

Special guests: 

Karen James, Rehabilitation Counselor II, Rochester Psychiatric Center, Laura Mancuso, Art Coordinator, Creative Wellness Opportunities (part of the Mental Health Association)

In a visual world, original design is more valuable than ever – and harder to find. In Barcelona, the design studio La Casa de Carlota produces beautiful campaigns for clients like Nestlé, San Miguel, Danone and Barcelona’s City Council. Harnessing the unique skills of a creative team which includes members with Down syndrome and autism, the studio competes with the best in the business. Through the experiences of Odile, Joan, Quim, Carlo and Sophie and their unique approach to their lives, work and creativity, the film both explores and celebrates the value of difference. 

Documentary, 80 minutes. Directed by Jeremiah Zagar; 2008.     

  Over the past four decades, artist Isaiah Zagar has covered more than 50,000 square feet of Philadelphia with stunning mosaic murals. In a Dream is an award-winning documentary chronicling his remarkable work, his mental health struggles as well as his often tumultuous relationship with his family. 

Documentary, 96 minutes. Directed by Rob Stegman & Todd Kwait; 2015. 

 Special guest: Film subject/Co-Producer Meg Hutchinson  

NEW YORK STATE PREMIERE! On a cross-country journey to interview such leading voices in the mental health field as Kay Redfield Jamison and Scott Stossel (as well as explore alternative therapies with such luminaries as Lama Migmar Tseten, Harvard Buddhist Chaplain & Director of The Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies), singer/songwriter Meg Hutchinson weaves together a story of Bipolar Disorder, hope and transformation. With Hutchinson's music and stunning images of the natural world guiding the way, the film is a unique and moving meditation on achieving wellness. 

Animation, 88 minutes. Directed and animated by Signe Baumane; 2014. 

 Special guest: Animator Signe Baumane

Signe Baumane’s brilliantly animated exploration of her family’s multi-generational struggle with depression and suicide is a story of "mystery and redemption... packed with visual metaphors, surreal images and a twisted sense of humor. It is a tale full of art, women, strange daring stories, Latvian accents, history, nature, adventure and more." Don't miss this exceptional evening with the delightful Baumane, who is known to throw hand painted paper mache rocks into the audience as gifts. 

Documentary, 70 minutes. Directed by Jack Cocker; 2013.  

 After the huge success of shows in Venice, London and Paris, interest in Outsider Art has never been higher. But what exactly is it? How do we define it? And who are its gurus and leading lights? The BBC’s Alan Yentob explores this captivating, compelling and magical alternative art universe, embarking on a worldwide journey to meet some visionary creators, and their equally obsessive collectors and enthusiasts. 

Documentary, 94 minutes, 2007 

Directed by Tricia Regan .     

Director Tricia Regan’s Emmy-winning documentary follows five LA children over the course of six months, capturing the struggles and triumphs of their family lives, and observing how a musical production gives them a comfort zone in which they can explore their creative sides. 

Documentary, 47 minutes, 2007

 Directed by Marianne Kaplan 

   Filmmaker and mother Marianne Kaplan turns the camera on her own family, creating a rare and intimate portrait of living with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism characterized by socially inappropriate behavior. The film follows a year in the life of Kaplan's son Adam, as the 12-year-old tries desperately to find a friend in the midst of bullies, insensitive classmates and parents with at-times frayed nerves. "Filled with love, courage, persistence and wonderful people." 

Documentary, 72 minutes, 2017 

Co-directors: Robert Rooy & David James Savarese 

Animation: Em Cooper 

Words: David James Savarese

Special guests: DJ Savarese, Dr. Lori Jeanne Peloquin, Rachel Rosner, AutismUp      

 Abandoned by his birth parents and unable to speak for himself, DJ Savarese ("Deej") found not only a loving family but also a life in words, which he types on a text-to-voice synthesizer. As he makes his way through high school and dreams of college, he confronts the terrors of his past, obstacles to inclusion, and the sometimes paralyzing beauty of his own senses. In his advocacy on behalf of other nonspeaking autistics, he embraces filmmaking and poetry, and discovers what having a voice can truly mean. Through the first-of-its-kind collaboration between veteran filmmaker Robert Rooy and a nonspeaking young man with Autism, the film is a story told largely from the inside – by DJ, and not by his parents or autism experts or even the camera. At its core, Deej reflects the level of participation that disability rights advocates insist upon: "Nothing about us without us."

Documentary, 86 minutes, 2010. 

 Directed by Thomas Murray     

   Special guests: 

Film subject Christopher Murray & filmmaker Thomas Murray

Emmy Award-winning writer Thomas Murray tells the complex and compelling story of his family’s journey to ensure his brother Christopher, diagnosed with Autism, lead a fulfilling and independent life. Unfolding against a backdrop of paternal Bipolar Disorder and Depression, Christopher’s emergence as an acclaimed artist is an intensely moving story that is ultimately about the triumph and strength of the human spirit. 

Documentary, 83 minutes, 2014. 

Directed by Michael Messner & Barry Reese

  Special guest:

 Film subjects Donna & Donny Lund; filmmaker Barry Reese

Don and Donna Lund went from the “perfect couple” at Yale to the parents of two boys with Autism that others avoided. As the story unfolds over 16 months, we become witness to a story of unconditional love, struggles mixed with joys, altered expectations tinged with hope. The family’s grace, patience and determination are at the core of this moving documentary. 

Animation, 92 minutes, 2009.

 Directed by Adam Eliot

       Don’t let the Claymation fool you – this is not a simple tale for children. Rather, this darkly humorous and often slyly subversive tale of a 20-year-old pen-pal friendship between a lonely, chubby girl in Melbourne and an isolated New Yorker struggling with Asperger’s Syndrome, offers some of the more compelling and richly complex characters found in contemporary film today. As directed by Academy-Award-winning director Adam Elliot (Harvie Krumpet) and voiced by a cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette and Eric Bana, the “desire for acceptance and love amid the pain of existence” has never found so singular a voice. 

Documentary, 100 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten & Scott Johnston  

   Special guests: 

Co-directors/producers Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten, Scott Johnston

Filmmaker Bud Clayman's documentary is a personal story with universal relevance - a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and his quest for belonging. Throughout his youth, Bud's future was filmmaking. After college he headed to Hollywood in search of a break. Instead he had a breakdown. When distress and isolation set in, the diagnosis followed. Thirty years later, in an effort to share his story, he's making the movie of his life. Through video diaries, Bud reveals eye-opening glimpses of his inner world. “I want people to understand,” says Clayman, “there is more to mental illness than pain and problems. My recovery is about acceptance and getting on with life.” 

 Documentary, 85 minutes, 2014.

Directed by Maria Barrosa & Ricardo de Gracia  
     

   Michelle (16), Regina (31), Marcos (12) and Victor (22), all young people with Asperger's, have always felt that they were different and didn’t understand the rules of the “normal planet." Despite an alternative way of seeing the world, they feel compelled to fit in and be understood. Through them we share moments of incomprehension, love, loss, professional rejection, school bullying... and, ultimately, acceptance and adaptation. 

 SHORTS:

• BY Benjamin Rosloff: Ben, an extraordinary young filmmaker with Autism, based in NYC, will screen and discuss his two shorts: 1) Benjamin's Story - shot at the United Nations with an interview with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon. The video – produced for the the 2016 World Autism Awareness Day reflects on Benjamin’s future and how it relates to major global issues. 2) Can I Call You? a touching short about approaching girls for a date
• BY Adrian Exposito: Adrian, a local and prolific young adult filmmaker with Autism, will show a short trailer from his upcoming new feature Diffability Hollywood - about how Individuals with disabilities make up 20% of the population, but their representation on TV and in movies is less than 1%. Features many celebrities, actors and advocates with disabilities including: Johnny Knoxville, Edward Barbanell, Robert David Hall, Danny Woodburn, Jamie Brewer, Lauren Potter, Chris Burke, Katherine Crawford, Rachel Simon and Joey Travolta.

Documentary, 90 minutes, 2016.

 Directed by Lara Stolman, Woodland Park Productions  

   Special guests: 

Filmmaker Lara Stolman

Dr. Lori Jeanne Peloquin

Jen Hackett Executive Director, Water Safety & Adaptive Swim Instructor, Camp Puzzle Peace 

This exciting film chronicles the rise of a competitive swim team made up of children and teens on the autism spectrum, focusing particularly on three of the team's star athletes - boys on the cusp of adulthood, facing a potential future of exclusion and dependence. As the pressure mounts and the team vies for state and national Special Olympics championships, SWIM TEAM captures a moving quest for inclusion, independence and a life filled with hope. 

Narrative, 107 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Mick Jackson  

  Special guest: 

Local basketball phenomenon J-Mac 

Nominated for 15 Emmys and the winner of seven, including Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Television Movie, this remarkable HBO biopic focuses on the early years of Temple Grandin, now a PhD lecturer and perhaps the most renowned example of a person living successfully with Autism. Featuring a Golden Globe-winning performance by Claire Danes, the film delicately weaves a story of Temple as a bright, complicated girl whose Harvard-educated mother (Julia Ormond) and caring teacher (David Straitharn) encourage her to blossom under the mantra “different not less.” Watching her triumph amidst the adversity and prejudice of the outside world is a revelation, and a fitting way to close out a film series dedicated to hope. 

Documentary, 49 minutes, 2009.

 Directed by Kate Davis & David Heilbroner 

  Special guest: 

Co-director/producer Kate Davis

Diagnosing children with bipolar mood disorder has become a widespread but increasingly controversial practice in the last several years. As this unsparing and critically-acclaimed documentary shows, doctors and families are often left to sort through untested medications with debilitating side effects and unknown long-term results. The honest and intimate observations on screen – from parents as well as national experts – underscore remarkable strength in the face of wrenching medical decisions and social isolation, revealing a deep compassion for the charming and complex children at the center of a heartbreaking struggle. 

 Documentary, 2016, 97 minutes. Directed by Jedd & Todd Wider 

Special guests: 

JOAN BISHOP (Linda's sister) 

Kristin Dawson-Henderson, Attorney, Mental Hygiene Legal Services

Lynne Fisher, Education Program Administrator, NAMI-Rochester

Larry Guttmacher, M.D., Clinical Director, Rochester Psychiatric Center

 Elizabeth Kingsley Curran, LMSW, Master CASAC, Admissions Director, East House

After being released from a psychological medical facility, Linda Bishop walked down the road, discovered an abandoned farmhouse and moved in. A prisoner of her own mind, she survived for four months on apples and rainwater, during one of the coldest winters on record. When her body was found the next spring, beside her was a diary documenting her journey of starvation and loss of sanity, but told with poignance, beauty, humor, and spirituality.

Both a study of systemic failure and also a testament to the artistic and independent spirit of Linda Bishop, the film poses many provocative questions including the issue of civil liberties of the mentally ill—if one’s mind is not free, can one truly exercise free will?

Live Performance

  Special guest: 

Playwright/actor Frank LaFrazia 

Frank LaFrazia’s acclaimed one-man play details his experiences as a teenager living with his mother who suffered from Bipolar disorder. In his performance, LaFrazia revisits his life in Rochester between the ages of 13 and 18, during which time he was his mother's caregiver, negotiating an obstacle course of hospital admissions, medical problems and his own coming of age. 

Documentary, 56 minutes,  2015.

 Directed by Rick Goldsmith 

 Special guest: 

Filmmaker Rick Goldsmith

From the rough-edged courts of New York City and recruited by Coach Pat Summitt for the University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols, Chamique Holdsclaw was hailed as the “female Michael Jordan,” impressing crowds with her artistry, athleticism and drive. A 3-time NCAA champ and Number One draft pick in the WNBA, Holdsclaw seemed destined for a spectacular professional career—until her long-suppressed battle with mental illness emerged to derail her career and threaten her life.Mind/Game intimately chronicles Holdsclaw’s athletic accomplishments and personal setbacks, and her decision, despite public stigma, to become an outspoken mental health advocate. Still, she would face dramatic, unexpected challenges to her own recovery. The film, narrated by Glenn Close, tells a powerful story of courage, struggle, and redemption. 

Documentary, 100 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten & Scott Johnston  

   Special guests: 

Co-directors/producers Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten, Scott Johnston

Filmmaker Bud Clayman's documentary is a personal story with universal relevance - a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and his quest for belonging. Throughout his youth, Bud's future was filmmaking. After college he headed to Hollywood in search of a break. Instead he had a breakdown. When distress and isolation set in, the diagnosis followed. Thirty years later, in an effort to share his story, he's making the movie of his life. Through video diaries, Bud reveals eye-opening glimpses of his inner world. “I want people to understand,” says Clayman, “there is more to mental illness than pain and problems. My recovery is about acceptance and getting on with life.” 

Documentary, 89 minutes, 2012.

 Directed by Douglas Blush & Lisa J. Klein

  Special guest: 

Film subject Carlton Davis

Of Two Minds explores the extraordinary lives, struggles and successes of three unique and compelling people – artist/architect Carlton Davis, journalist Liz Sikol and stylist Cheri Keating – living with Bipolar Disorder in America today. Through a combination of intimate verité and revealing interviews, the viewer experiences what it feels like to be Bipolar – from exquisite feelings of grandiosity and sensuality to the depths of despair and depression. A journey from the painful to the painfully funny, Of Two Minds puts a human face on the illness, opening an engaging, harrowing and perception-changing view on those all around us who live in Bipolar's shadows...our sisters and brothers, parents and friends, and ourselves. 

Documentary, 96 minutes, 2015.

 Directed by Rob Stegman & Todd Kwait

Special guest: 

Film subject/Co-Producer Meg Hutchinson

NEW YORK STATE PREMIERE! On a cross-country journey to interview such leading voices in the mental health field as Kay Redfield Jamison and Scott Stossel (as well as explore alternative therapies with such luminaries as Lama Migmar Tseten, Harvard Buddhist Chaplain & Director of The Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies), singer/songwriter Meg Hutchinson weaves together a story of Bipolar Disorder, hope and transformation. With Hutchinson's music and stunning images of the natural world guiding the way, the film is a unique and moving meditation on achieving wellness. 

Documentary, 98 minutes, 2016.

 Directed by Michael Collins, 

 Special guests: 

Matthew McGee, US Coast Guard, Retired

 Veterans OutreachCenter (VOC) Dave Oliver, E9 US Army National Guard

 Buddy to Buddy, VOC Nicholas Stefovic, USMC vet

The moving story of two Iraq veterans, Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, both tormented by depression for years after they returned home and felt pushed to the edge of suicide. Embarking on an extraordinary journey – a 2,700 mile walk across the country from Wisconsin to California – the two men not only raise awareness of the plight of veterans, but reflect on their own haunting experiences and ultimately, fight to save themselves. 

Live Performance

Performed by Ralph Meranto
Written by Herb Katz and Paula Marchese
Directed by Herb Katz
Music & Lyrics by Patricia Chadwick
Musical Director/Accompanist: Julie Covach 

 Special guests: 

Herb Katz

Ralph Meranto

Christine Fitzstevens, MCSW-R 

 At times poignant, heartbreaking, endearing and hilarious, this true story chronicles the talented Herb Katz’s lifelong struggle with Depression, including time spent in the R Wing of Strong Hospital, where he implausibly meets a beautiful woman visitor who later becomes his wife. Told through stories, jokes and song, this is a tale that will leave you laughing, crying, and with a better understanding of what makes us all human.  

   Documentary, 62 minutes, 2016.
Directors: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
Starring: Jonny Donahoe

A film of a live stage performance at the Barrow Street Theatre in NYC. A young boy of 7 creates a list of things worth living for - all in an attempt to raise the spirits of his chronically depressed mother - in this adaptation of the acclaimed, interactive one-character show. As he grows, the list evolves from things like "ice cream" and "people falling over" to more complex observations and feelings. By the end, everyone in the theatre is in agreement that "things get better. They don't always get brilliant, but they get better."

Documentary, 40 minutes, 2017.
Directed by Frank Stiefel.

Brilliant artist Mindy Alper is represented by one of LA’s top galleries, and her body of raw, emotional work reveals a lifetime of extreme depression and anxiety. Through electroshock therapy, multiple commitments to mental institutions and a 10-year period without speech, her only consistent means of communicating has been to channel her hyper self-awareness into drawings and sculpture of powerful psychological clarity.

Through an examination of her work, interviews, reenactments,
the building of an eight and a half foot papier-mâché bust of her beloved psychiatrist, we learn how she has emerged from a life of darkness and isolation to a life that includes love, trust and laughter.

Documentary, 80 minutes, 2008.

 Directed by Jeremiah Zagar

  Over the past four decades, artist Isaiah Zagar has covered more than 50,000 square feet of Philadelphia with stunning mosaic murals. In a Dream is an award-winning documentary chronicling his remarkable work, his mental health struggles as well as his often tumultuous relationship with his family.  

Narrative, 101 minutes, 2010. 

Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck; starring Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Viola Davis, Lauren Graham; 

Special guest via Skype: 

Author Ned Vizzini

When 15-year-old Craig Gilner is accepted by a prestigious Manhattan high school, the pressure becomes overwhelming, and he finds himself battling depression. When partying and drugs fail to alleviate his pain, he finds himself on a bridge. Realizing his suicidal ideations are turning dangerously real, he checks himself into a hospital where the only space available is in the adult psychiatric wing. There he receives the help he needs, discovers his hidden artistic talents and makes moving connections with the charming and troubled patients who share his floor. 

Documentary, 100 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten & Scott Johnston  

   Special guests: 

Co-directors/producers Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten, Scott Johnston

Filmmaker Bud Clayman's documentary is a personal story with universal relevance - a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and his quest for belonging. Throughout his youth, Bud's future was filmmaking. After college he headed to Hollywood in search of a break. Instead he had a breakdown. When distress and isolation set in, the diagnosis followed. Thirty years later, in an effort to share his story, he's making the movie of his life. Through video diaries, Bud reveals eye-opening glimpses of his inner world. “I want people to understand,” says Clayman, “there is more to mental illness than pain and problems. My recovery is about acceptance and getting on with life.” 

Narrative, 124 minutes, 1980.

 Directed by Robert Redford; starring Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern; 

Special guest: 

Author/suicide survivor Susan Rose Blauner

In celebration of this groundbreaking title’s 30th Anniversary, Reel Mind is proud to present this special screening from Paramount Pictures. As stunning today as when it first debuted, the film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director (Robert Redford) as well as Best Supporting Actor for relative newcomer Timothy Hutton for his role as Conrad, a suicidal high schooler trying to rebuild his life after his golden-haired brother’s accidental death. Adding to the devastation in this spare but pitch-perfect film is a mother as chilled as her clinking ice, a hapless, lost father, and the saving grace of a psychiatrist, whose on-screen sessions helped forever change moviegoers’ perceptions of what therapy could do. 

Animation, 88 minutes. Directed and animated by Signe Baumane; 2014. 

 Special guest: Animator Signe Baumane

Signe Baumane’s brilliantly animated exploration of her family’s multi-generational struggle with depression and suicide is a story of "mystery and redemption... packed with visual metaphors, surreal images and a twisted sense of humor. It is a tale full of art, women, strange daring stories, Latvian accents, history, nature, adventure and more." Don't miss this exceptional evening with the delightful Baumane, who is known to throw hand painted paper mache rocks into the audience as gifts. 

 Documentary, 93 minutes, 2021. 

 Directer / Producer / Cinematographer: Margaret Byrne 

Special guests: 

Dr. Robert Weisman  

Margaret Byrne - Film director/producer 

Dr. Larry Guttmacher 

In 2015, in the midst of widespread defunding of community mental health care programs across the country, in Chicago, the Cook County Jail has become a default treatment center for people living with mental illness.

While investigating the treatment of detainees, filmmaker Margaret Byrne befriends Angela, Dimitar and Daniel, participants in a mental health court probation program. Their friendship gives each of them the courage to be seen at their most vulnerable as protagonists in this film. In turn, Margaret begins to confront one of the most difficult periods of her life, culminating in a hospitalization for depression.

What begins as a heartfelt desire to accurately portray the lives of Angela, Dimitar and Daniel, forces Margaret to reckon with her own history of mental illness. Margaret’s own hospitalization that occurs during the making of the film, becomes an inspiration to weave her own story into the film. 

Any Given Day provides deeply personal insight into the necessity of caring relationships, especially when life is at its most difficult.

Documentary, 88 minutes, 2016.

 Directed by Glenn Holsten

 Special guests: 

Film subject: Rachel “Hollywood” Carr  filmmaker Glenn Holsten

Hollywood Beauty Salon portrays life at an intimate beauty parlor inside of the Germantown Recovery Community, a non-profit mental health facility in Northwest Philadelphia, where staff and clients alike are in the process of recovery. By gathering together to get their hair done, share stories, and support one another, they find a way to rebuild their lives. The documentary - which was work-shopped at the Salon over the course of four years - is also part of the recovery process, and the subjects of the film played an active part in shaping their own narratives and determining their unique individual styles. 

Documentary, 48 minutes, 2007.

 Directed by Tara Shortt; 

 Special guest: 

Film subject/educator David Granirer

The case that laughter is a key ingredient of “the best medicine” is convincingly made in this winning documentary about a group of mental health consumers who take their stand-up comedy routines on the road. Filmmaker Tara Shortt chronicles the group’s unusual journey warts and all, and it is hard to believe that the people we see fumbling at the mike during the initial comedy workshops are the same hipsters we see up on the stage at the end. Most exciting is the self-esteem and ownership that leaps off the screen with every smile-inducing joke -- proof positive that mental illness (too) is deserving of the full range of human emotion…even laughter. 

  Live Performance. 

Book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie; 2006. 

This special fundraiser for Reel Mind is a hilarious and heartbreaking live performance of the story of Big Edie and Little Bouvier Beale, the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - once bright names on the social register who became East Hampton's most notorious recluses. 

Documentary, 60 minutes, 2013. 

Directed by Delaney Ruston 

   Filmmaker Delaney Ruston grew up under the shadow of her dad's illness: Schizophrenia. While reconnecting with him after years of estrangement, as seen in the award-winning film, UNLISTED: A Story of Schizophrenia (REEL MIND, 2011), Ruston became interested in the experiences other families had around the globe. How are people accepted or rejected? What is mental health care like? Given that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the 450 million people worldwide have a mental illness, why do we rarely hear their stories? Ruston takes us on her journey to answer these questions, uncovering global mental health in India, South Africa, China France, and the US. What emerges are scenes of profound frustration, moments of true compassion, and haunting insights. 

Documentary, 100 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten & Scott Johnston  

   Special guests: 

Co-directors/producers Bud Clayman, Glenn Holsten, Scott Johnston

Filmmaker Bud Clayman's documentary is a personal story with universal relevance - a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment and his quest for belonging. Throughout his youth, Bud's future was filmmaking. After college he headed to Hollywood in search of a break. Instead he had a breakdown. When distress and isolation set in, the diagnosis followed. Thirty years later, in an effort to share his story, he's making the movie of his life. Through video diaries, Bud reveals eye-opening glimpses of his inner world. “I want people to understand,” says Clayman, “there is more to mental illness than pain and problems. My recovery is about acceptance and getting on with life.” 

 Documentary, 52 minutes, Australia, 2021
A Film by: Damon Smith and Adam Coad

   Special guests: 

Dr. Lauren Wadsworth 

Larry Guttmacher

 https://youtu.be/8Zf9P2M01Cg

Damon Smith has estimated that he has spent around 50,000 hours of his life, so far, participating in absurd ritualistic behaviors associated with his obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). With the help of his anxious friend, Adam Coad, these Australian singer-songwriters share, through original music, preposterous humor, and outlandish animations, the intricate and debilitating nature of what it is like to live and talk about mental illness in a world where it’s ok to talk about a broken arm, but not ok to talk about a broken mind.

Mental As Everything is supported by Regional Arts Victoria and RISE Funding through the Australian Federal Government.

Documentary, 25 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Dylan Toombs with assistance from Larry Guttmacher & Bob Riley

Special guest: 

Filmmaker Dylan Toombs

Echoes of the Past: Surrounded in community myth, the history of one of Rochester, NY’s most prominent buildings -- the former Rochester State Hospital -- tells the story of dramatically shifting attitudes towards those with mental illness. It spans the mass institutionalization of the first half of the 20th century to the move towards deinstitutionalization which started in the 1960’s. Closed in 1995, the Hospital’s imposing 15 story, 450,000 square foot building has remained empty but standing, towering over a major artery of the city for 50+ years. With rare access to the interior of the now deteriorating building, local filmmaker Dylan Toombs is joined by some of those who lived and worked there, as they tell their stories of how their lives were indelibly changed by this monolith. 

Search for Sanity, a 1954 television special about advances in the treatment of mental illness, was shot inside New York’s Hudson River State Hospital. Its showing will help set in context a preview of Echo of the Past.

 Documentary, 2016, 97 minutes. Directed by Jedd & Todd Wider 

Special guests: 

JOAN BISHOP (Linda's sister) 

Kristin Dawson-Henderson, Attorney, Mental Hygiene Legal Services

Lynne Fisher, Education Program Administrator, NAMI-Rochester

Larry Guttmacher, M.D., Clinical Director, Rochester Psychiatric Center

 Elizabeth Kingsley Curran, LMSW, Master CASAC, Admissions Director, East House

After being released from a psychological medical facility, Linda Bishop walked down the road, discovered an abandoned farmhouse and moved in. A prisoner of her own mind, she survived for four months on apples and rainwater, during one of the coldest winters on record. When her body was found the next spring, beside her was a diary documenting her journey of starvation and loss of sanity, but told with poignance, beauty, humor, and spirituality.

Both a study of systemic failure and also a testament to the artistic and independent spirit of Linda Bishop, the film poses many provocative questions including the issue of civil liberties of the mentally ill—if one’s mind is not free, can one truly exercise free will?

Narrative, 101 minutes, 2010. 

Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck; starring Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Viola Davis, Lauren Graham 

Special guest via Skype: 

Author Ned Vizzini

When 15-year-old Craig Gilner is accepted by a prestigious Manhattan high school, the pressure becomes overwhelming, and he finds himself battling depression. When partying and drugs fail to alleviate his pain, he finds himself on a bridge. Realizing his suicidal ideations are turning dangerously real, he checks himself into a hospital where the only space available is in the adult psychiatric wing. There he receives the help he needs, discovers his hidden artistic talents and makes moving connections with the charming and troubled patients who share his floor. 

Narrative, 133 minutes, 1975. 

Directed by Milos Forman

 Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif, Scatman Crothers. Nominated for 9 Oscars and the winner of five (Best Picture, Director, Screenwriter, Actor & Actress – the first film to win such a sweep in 41 years), Milos Forman’s classic 1975 film, based upon Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, is a searing indictment of institutional psychiatry of that era as played out with joy and pain between the indelible characters of patient Randall McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. The film is historically important as one of the leading examples of the antipsychiatry movement. Join us to discuss how and if things have changed in the 35+ years since the film was made. 

 Documentary, 95 minutes, 2021.
A film by: Jack Youngelson 

Special guests: 

Dr.  Ellen Poleshuck 

 Carolyn Albu (Veteran)

 Chloe Hall (Film producer)

https://youtu.be/tEbAMG7QKAw

While veterans are more than twice as likely to have PTSD than civilians, the root causes of PTSD are wide-ranging. What needs to be understood is that trauma comes in all forms, including the impact of sexual or physical assault, natural disasters, abuse, exposure to violence, serious health issues, or the death of a loved one. Seemingly unexceptional events can adversely affect people in different professions, from frontline medical workers to EMS to grocery store clerks to delivery couriers. This film is meant to help veterans who have experienced trauma, but also to help audiences who may be experiencing the aftermath of any devastating event and have no idea where or how to find a path forward. As the world still grapples with the collective trauma of the pandemic, the need for effective mental health treatment — free from stigma — is more important than ever.

HERE. IS. BETTER. illustrates how the seemingly impossible mission to heal may become possible as John, Teresa, Jason, and Tabitha choose to face each day with the bravery to seek help and the hope of what help can bring.

Documentary, 98 minutes, 2016.

 Directed by Michael Collins

 Special guests: 

Matthew McGee, US Coast Guard, Retired

 Veterans OutreachCenter (VOC) Dave Oliver, E9 US Army National Guard

 Buddy to Buddy, VOC Nicholas Stefovic, USMC vet

The moving story of two Iraq veterans, Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, both tormented by depression for years after they returned home and felt pushed to the edge of suicide. Embarking on an extraordinary journey – a 2,700 mile walk across the country from Wisconsin to California – the two men not only raise awareness of the plight of veterans, but reflect on their own haunting experiences and ultimately, fight to save themselves. 

Documentary, 40 minutes, 2014.

 Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent

Special guest:

 Academy-Award-winning producer Dana Perry

Since 2001, more veterans have died by their own hand than in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan -- it is reported that one veteran dies by suicide every 80 minutes, and former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S.

Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide due to the psychological wounds of war and the challenges of returning to civilian life.

This 2015 Academy Award-winning short documentary spotlights the work of the hotline responders, who provide immediate intervention and support in the process of saving lives.

Presented as a FREE special screening; donations benefit suicide prevention. 

Documentary, 40 minutes, 2010. 

Directed by Sara Nesson 

 Special guest: 

Film subject Robynn Murray 

Accompanied by "Imagine," an art exhibit curated by the Mental Health Association’s Creative Wellness Opportunities; Executive Director: Veronica Weider; Art Consultant: Leslie Werlin.

This Academy Award-nominated film follows Robynn Murray, a cheerleader turned machine gunner during the Iraq War, as she returns home to face a different kind of battle, with art her new weapon. 

Documentary, 58 minutes, 2009. 

Director: Justin Thomas Rowe  

 This compelling documentary tells the story of three talented artists with schizophrenia as they search for identity, acceptance and recovery through their unique and thought-provoking art. A treat for the art history buff, the film explores how artists like Van Gogh reached brilliant (if terrifying) heights when their psychiatric symptoms were peaking. Very much a study in hope, the film shows how contemporary artists can work not only to channel their psychiatric experiences into transcendent art, but can nourish their mental health in the process. 

Documentary, 110 minutes, 2005. 

Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig 

Daniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love. 

Documentary, 86 minutes, 2007. 

Directed by Johnny Boston 

What makes an artist? What drives someone to create a painting, a composition or write a novel? While many academic categories of art exist, not every artist easily fits into prescribed meanings. Alan Russell-Cowan – AKA Alan Streets – is one such artist. Afflicted with Paranoid Schizophrenia, Streets struggles with the desire to be a great painter, while battling delusions and auditory hallucinations. My Name is Alan and I Paint Pictures examines Streets’ life, the role art and painting play in it, and how mental illness intertwines with artistic creation and perception. 

 Documentary, 84 minutes, 2003.

Directed by John & Katie Cadigan

Special guest: Producer Ira Wohl

Hailed by critics and audiences alike, the award-winning People Say I'm Crazy is the only film about schizophrenia directed by someone with schizophrenia. Taking camera in hand, filmmaker and well-known artist John Cadigan leads viewers on a remarkable journey in which all can bear unparalleled witness to the disease's effect on one man and his family. The film is a powerful and ultimately optimistic testament, challenging stereotypes and humanizing an often misunderstood illness. 

 Producer Ira Wohl won an Academy Award for directing and producing Best Boy, about his intellectually disabled cousin’s struggles to achieve a life independent of his family. Wohl is a practicing clinical social worker and psychotherapist. 

Narrative, 117 minutes, 2009.

Directed by Joe Wright; starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.

 A remarkable true story of hope and recovery from severe mental illness. Nathaniel Ayers was a former Julliard student who was homeless in Los Angeles and playing a two-string violin under a bridge near a statue of Beethoven when Steve Lopez, a newspaper reporter, came across him. As Lopez begins to tell Ayers' story in print, the community is moved to donate instruments, and the two men form an unlikely but life-changing relationship. 

 Documentary, 57 minutes, 2016.

Directed by Dinesh Sabu, Kartemquin Films   

 Special Guest: 

Filmmaker - DINESH DAS SABU

Twenty years after the death of his parents, 26-year-old filmmaker Dinesh Sabu begins a journey to finally piece together their story and reconcile his past. Traveling to Illinois, California, New Mexico and India, he learns for the first time about his mother’s schizophrenia and suicide, and how his family, including the siblings who raised him, dealt with this secret in an age and culture where mental illness was often misunderstood, scorned and taboo. 

Documentary, 76 minutes, 2012. 

Directed by Kyle Tekiela & Rebecca Schaper 

Special guest: Filmmaker and family member Rebecca Schaper

Rebecca Schaper and Kyle Tekiela’s feature documentary explores how and why a loved one can disappear into a 20-year abyss of homelessness.

In 1977, Call Richmond went missing. Twenty years later he showed up on his sister Rebecca’s doorstep, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Filmed over 14 years, the film captures Rebecca’s brave journey of “bringing her brother back.” While celebrating his healing, the family is finally forced to reconcile the dark traumas and painful memories of their past. Call becomes the unlikely catalyst in this raw depiction of personal and familial recovery. 

Documentary, 57 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Delaney Ruston, M.D.; 

Special guest via Skype: 

Director Delaney Ruston

Unlisted is the moving story of one daughter’s journey to reconnect with her long-estranged and paranoid schizophrenic father, after years of shame, frustration and fear. Now a doctor and a mother, Delaney Ruston delicately builds a story of reconciliation by weaving together frank and poignant talks with her father, as well as interviews with the people in his past and present life. Sharing touching and oft-times painful detail about the personal toll of mental illness, the film is a soul-searching examination into the nature of responsibility—of parents and children, of physicians and patients, of society and citizens towards those afflicted with severe mental illness.

Dr. Delaney Ruston provides primary medical care in clinics for underserved patients and is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Documentary, 40 minutes, 2014.

 Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent

Special guest:

 Academy-Award-winning producer Dana Perry

Since 2001, more veterans have died by their own hand than in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan -- it is reported that one veteran dies by suicide every 80 minutes, and former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S.

Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide due to the psychological wounds of war and the challenges of returning to civilian life.

This 2015 Academy Award-winning short documentary spotlights the work of the hotline responders, who provide immediate intervention and support in the process of saving lives.

Presented as a FREE special screening; donations benefit suicide prevention. 

   Documentary, 62 minutes, 2016.
Directors: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
Starring: Jonny Donahoe

A film of a live stage performance at the Barrow Street Theatre in NYC. A young boy of 7 creates a list of things worth living for - all in an attempt to raise the spirits of his chronically depressed mother - in this adaptation of the acclaimed, interactive one-character show. As he grows, the list evolves from things like "ice cream" and "people falling over" to more complex observations and feelings. By the end, everyone in the theatre is in agreement that "things get better. They don't always get brilliant, but they get better."

 Documentary, 100 minutes, 2018.
Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel  

 Special guests: 

Film participant Gwennie von Einsiedel Pieter Leroux, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) 

From the Academy Award® winning team behind THE WHITE HELMETS and VIRUNGA comes this new film documenting a family's journey to overcome the unthinkable.

Director Orlando von Einsiedel turns the cameras on himself, as he and his parents and siblings embark on an ambitious hike in remembrance of their brother and son, Evelyn, who took his own life over a decade ago. As they work their way across the United Kingdom, they confront a past they’ve been unable to talk about, whilst simultaneously repairing the fractures in their own relationships.

Part quest film, part road-trip, part memoir, EVELYN seeks to address the past, in order to find some peace in the present, and look to the future.

Narrative, 124 minutes, 1980.

 Directed by Robert Redford; starring Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern; 

Special guest: 

Author/suicide survivor Susan Rose Blauner

In celebration of this groundbreaking title’s 30th Anniversary, Reel Mind is proud to present this special screening from Paramount Pictures. As stunning today as when it first debuted, the film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director (Robert Redford) as well as Best Supporting Actor for relative newcomer Timothy Hutton for his role as Conrad, a suicidal high schooler trying to rebuild his life after his golden-haired brother’s accidental death. Adding to the devastation in this spare but pitch-perfect film is a mother as chilled as her clinking ice, a hapless, lost father, and the saving grace of a psychiatrist, whose on-screen sessions helped forever change moviegoers’ perceptions of what therapy could do. 

Animation, 88 minutes. Directed and animated by Signe Baumane; 2014. 

 Special guest: Animator Signe Baumane

Signe Baumane’s brilliantly animated exploration of her family’s multi-generational struggle with depression and suicide is a story of "mystery and redemption... packed with visual metaphors, surreal images and a twisted sense of humor. It is a tale full of art, women, strange daring stories, Latvian accents, history, nature, adventure and more." Don't miss this exceptional evening with the delightful Baumane, who is known to throw hand painted paper mache rocks into the audience as gifts. 

 Documentary, 57 minutes, 2016.

Directed by Dinesh Sabu, Kartemquin Films   

 Special Guest: 

Filmmaker - DINESH DAS SABU

Twenty years after the death of his parents, 26-year-old filmmaker Dinesh Sabu begins a journey to finally piece together their story and reconcile his past. Traveling to Illinois, California, New Mexico and India, he learns for the first time about his mother’s schizophrenia and suicide, and how his family, including the siblings who raised him, dealt with this secret in an age and culture where mental illness was often misunderstood, scorned and taboo. 

 Documentary, 93 minutes, 2018. 

 Special guests: 

Margi Taber, CASAC II, Assistant Program Director for Prevention MHFA/YMHFA Coordinator, Delphi Rise 

Eric Caine, M.D.

Kristina Mossgraber, Survivor

 In Our Own Voice presenter, Chacku Mathai 

Bill Perun, Survivor

ANTHONY BOURDAIN. KATE SPADE. These recent tragedies have brought to the forefront the startling fact that suicide is a global epidemic, and is killing over 800,000 people/year.

Kevin Hines was lucky not to be one of these statistics. At age 19, he attempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. After a miraculous survival, he became a renowned mental health advocate, motivational speaker and author who travels the world, spreading a message of hope, recovery and wellness, focusing on the devastating effects of suicide and the tremendous positive ripple effects of inspiration and hope that are helping millions heal and stay alive.

 Documentary, 2017, 60 minutes
Directed by Lisa Klein 

 Special guests: 

Film Participant Kelechi Ubozoh

Caroline Silva, PhD, Senior Instructor and Clinical Psychologist

Elli Assiobo-Tipoh, Supervisor, Veterans Crisis Hotline 

A suicide attempt survivor is on a mission to find fellow survivors and document their stories of unguarded courage, insight, pain and humor. Along the way, she discovers a national community rising to transform personal struggles into action.

Skillfully weaving stories of survivors from a cross section of America including LGBTQ, African American and Asian American communities, the film candidly shares their profoundly moving stories of trauma, mental health challenges, survival and advocacy, and shows how their journeys are driving the national movement to take the “S” word from unthinkable to preventable.

Post film discussion included special focus on mental illness in communities of color.

Documentary, 57 minutes, 2010.

 Directed by Delaney Ruston, M.D.; 

Special guest via Skype: 

Director Delaney Ruston

Unlisted is the moving story of one daughter’s journey to reconnect with her long-estranged and paranoid schizophrenic father, after years of shame, frustration and fear. Now a doctor and a mother, Delaney Ruston delicately builds a story of reconciliation by weaving together frank and poignant talks with her father, as well as interviews with the people in his past and present life. Sharing touching and oft-times painful detail about the personal toll of mental illness, the film is a soul-searching examination into the nature of responsibility—of parents and children, of physicians and patients, of society and citizens towards those afflicted with severe mental illness.

Dr. Delaney Ruston provides primary medical care in clinics for underserved patients and is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

A live stage reading

  Performed by Ralph Meranto
Written by Herb Katz and Paula Marchese
Directed by Herb Katz
Music & Lyrics by Patricia Chadwick
Musical Director/Accompanist: Julie Covach 

Special guests:

Herb Katz, Ralph Meranto, Christine Fitzstevens, MCSW-R 

 At times poignant, heartbreaking, endearing and hilarious, this true story chronicles the talented Herb Katz’s lifelong struggle with Depression, including time spent in the R Wing of Strong Hospital, where he implausibly meets a beautiful woman visitor who later becomes his wife. Told through stories, jokes and song, this is a tale that will leave you laughing, crying, and with a better understanding of what makes us all human. 

   Performed live. 

This special fundraiser for Reel Mind is a hilarious and heartbreaking live performance of the story of Big Edie and Little Bouvier Beale, the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - once bright names on the social register who became East Hampton's most notorious recluses. Book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie; 2006. 

Performed live. 

Special guest: 

Playwright/actor Frank LaFrazia

 Frank LaFrazia’s acclaimed one-man play details his experiences as a teenager living with his mother who suffered from Bipolar disorder. In his performance, LaFrazia revisits his life in Rochester between the ages of 13 and 18, during which time he was his mother's caregiver, negotiating an obstacle course of hospital admissions, medical problems and his own coming of age.

Performed live. 

Special guests: 

Playwright/actor Adina Taubman, Director Padraic Lillis and Dr Ann EZ Griepp 

The Road Back is the very personal story of Adina Taubman’s journey into and out of a severe depression 12 years ago. With humor and honesty, she tells the story of the experience that transformed her life for the better and led her down a road of discovery to a new, more enlightened sense of self. This entertaining and courageous new play includes helpful strategies for managing depression and anxiety that will inspire anyone who 

has ever struggled with their mental health.

Adina Taubman and Padraic Lillis previously collaborated on A Line in the Sand, which was awarded Outstanding Production of a Solo Show at both the Midtown International and Planet Connections Theatre Festivals. The show was also awarded the Pulitzer Award for Excellence in Writing and the Meryl Streep Award for Excellence in Acting at the PortFringe Festival and the Best Stage Play Award at the Moondance International Film Festival.