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 available from Amazon either for purchase or via online streaming 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."
