Over the past year and a half, filmmaker Tom Ludwig
and I have been working with Lesley Crowell at
Kalamazoo Community Mental Health on a feature length
documentary. The movie, A LONG STRANGE TRIP, is about
an incredible group of people who tour the community,
telling their personal stories about what it's like
living with a mental illness.
A LONG STRANGE TRIP premieres Friday, April 25th at
WMU's Little Theater. Showtimes: 7 & 9:30pm. Admission
will be Free-Will donations.
For a city that's home to the Kalamazoo Psychiatric
Hospital (formerly the State Hospital), there's
clearly a need for more awareness concerning members
of our community living with a psychiatric disability.
Please join us for this special event to honor and
celebrate the efforts of this extraordinary group of
individuals.
Hope to see you there,
Matt Clysdale
HorsePower Pictures
ps: Below is a synopsis of the film. Attached is an
electronic flyer; it takes a minute to view.
Please help spread the word by
forwarding this announcement and flyer to anyone
interested.
Thank You!
(If you would like to be removed from this mailing
list, please e-mail me back with REMOVE in the subject
line)
------------------
A LONG STRANGE TRIP
Crazy as a loon, off your rocker, cuckoo, insane -
words and phrases we've all heard or spoken that make
light of people with mental illness. But for most,
living with a psychiatric disability is difficult and
complex.
A Long Strange Trip documents the PoWeR Group (Peers
for Wellness & Recovery), a team of mental health
clients who fight the fears and prejudices surrounding
mental illness with the power of personal testimony.
Touring southwest Michigan, the PoWeR Group hopes to
open the hearts and minds of legislators, college
students, church goers and any other audience willing
to hear their stories. Whether it's Tricia having
delusions of demons at 16 or Joe thinking satellites
are filming him in his apartment, each person opens a
window into the often misunderstood world of severe
and persistant mental illness.
But there's a fine line between telling your story and
living your story. Soon after rookie member Ian
delivers his first presentation, drug addiction
catches up with him in court. And when team members
accuse veteran member Jay of acting strange at a
presentation, a riveting struggle ensues over what it
is to be "normal".
Addressing that struggle are the Peers themselves,
working together in good times and bad. Join them on
the winding roads of recovery for a truly Long Strange
Trip..."
No comments:
Post a Comment