Madly Gifted
Madly Gifted is a documentary that explores the complexity of the artistic talent and its relation to the Bipolar Spectrum through a combination of interviews, reenactments, and artwork. The purpose of the documentary is not to show interviewees' personal lives but to voice the opinion of bipolar artists about the impact of treatment to their creative mind and quality of life, their concerns and fears; it is a channel to enhance the communication between patients and health professionals to better serve patients' needs.
We hope the psychiatric community will get a good grasp of patients' views and concerns about diagnosis and treatment processes, and that this information will allow psychiatrists to tailor more individual recommendations to the bipolar artist. On the same token, we hope patients will be more receptive to learning from experts when in a more balanced, fair environment.
We want to step away from the traditional documentary format and deliver visuals that create an experience of “seeing through the eyes of a Bipolar Artist”, a conflicted contrast between form and content. The documentary will be used as a tool for social activism to educate, reduce stigma, and encourage more extensive investigation to find treatments specially aimed to the artistic community.
"Madly Gifted is a striking and unusual film revealing what it's really like to be an artist & bipolar. The filmmaker's gift is to show visually and viscerally what it's like to be bipolar, how artists feel, and how they work. The excellent research and interviews with health professionals add a context which furthers understanding”.
MARGARET BATES
EdD, Columbia University Teachers College & Media Consultant
EdD, Columbia University Teachers College & Media Consultant