A Bipolar Expedition

Using a variety of sources, SPYRAL follows one bipolar woman and the impact it has on her family.

January 2011 : the revolution bursts in Tunisia, my father’s country. The Tunisian people scream in a rage and I, here in Paris, can feel their revolt vibrating in my heart.

Chronicles the fascinating and often turbulent life of Townes Van Zandt.

The lives of Jeff, Lauren and Lloyd—three very different people who share one common experience—have been transformed by speaking up for mental health. These inspiring stories depict what mental health in America really looks like and highlights just how important it is to speak up and seek help.

Chameleons

Ten years ago, in an award-winning series, Stephen Fry first spoke about living with manic depression and began a national conversation about mental health. A decade later, we return to the subject to understand where he and thousands of others diagnosed with bipolar (as it is now called) are now.

After facing several years of hardships, Gabriela, the director and protagonist of this short documentary, is involuntarily relocated by her family to a rehabilitation center for three months. During this time, she encounters a series of prohibitions that result in complete isolation from society, surrounded by individuals grappling with severe mental health issues. Four years after her release, she embarks on an introspective journey to definitively close that chapter of her life. This poignant documentary immerses us in Gabriela's courageous odyssey, offering an intimate look at her struggle for self-reconciliation and familial understanding. Through powerful imagery and sincere testimonials, the short film invites the audience to contemplate human resilience and the pursuit of forgiveness.

Animated short documentary following a young woman's diagnosis of bipolar: a journey of self-acceptance to challenge everyday stigma. In "Trust Me", a genre-bending short documentary, a young woman uses humour and compassion to share her moving and deeply personal story of coming to terms with her mental health condition. When she starts exhibiting atypical and extreme behaviour, her loved ones trick her into hospitalisation against her will. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder which starts her challenging journey of self-acceptance, confronting internalised and societal stigma, and learning to trust herself and others again.

Within my soul

Mon ami Batman Tremblay

Director Mathieu Arsenault and two other sufferers of bipolar disorder tell the story of their journey into mental illness and back, while the partners and family members who helped them through it tell the story as they experienced it.

In part of the HBO's America Undercover series, this documentary provides an insider's view of mental illness, and the use of psychotropic drugs to alleviate some of its symptoms. Tracks the odyssey of four psychiatric patients, beginning with their arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital and the affiliated Lindemann Center, revealing their personal struggles and inner strength as they enter the world of psychiatric treatment to seek relief from insanity.

ZAAD tells the autobiographical story of Dries Meddens. After the death of his mother, the care for Dries' bipolar father falls on his plate. He discovers how crudely and ruthlessly society and psychiatry treat patients. His father eventually dies in solitary confinement. While emptying his parent’s home, Dries discovers an old letter from his grandfather. The man appears to have led a busy, productive life. He is the founder of an internationally renowned seed breeding company and still has time to paint, write diaries and conduct intensive correspondence. Dries finds similarities between his grandfather, his father and himself. Slowly the fear grows that his father's psychiatric illness might be hereditary. Strolling through the family’s film and photo archives, with dramatic and sometimes hilarious finds, Dries tries to find answers. He also consults a psychiatrist. Together the consultations and reviewing of his archival material help Dries look at bipolarity with new eyes.

'Running from Crazy' is a documentary examining the personal journey of model and actress Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, as she strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness.

Part road movie, part musical, part serious inquiry into the caverns of the mind. Þriðji pólinn follows Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelander raised in Nepal, and legendary musician Högni Egilsson, as they journey to Anna’s childhood home in the mountain jungles to explore the afflictions and superpowers that come with bipolar disorder.

A young woman experiencing a psychiatric crisis must find a way to overcome her body’s deeply ingrained stress response.

Francesco Falaschi's comedy I Am Emma stars Cecilia Dazzi as a woman who suffers from an unusual disorder. Emma is a town councilwoman whose husband (Marco Giallini) has taken a mistress because he dislikes her repressed behavior. Her demeanor changes radically when the town pharmacist runs out of Emma's daily dose of depressants. Emma has a disorder in which she is naturally outgoing and upbeat. Her marriage gets rocky as she expresses her true self. The town responds poorly to a woman being so brazen, but Emma's best friend (Elda Alvigini) is inspired by Emma to make a major life change.

The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.

Two hapless explorers lead an ill-fated 1804 expedition through the Pacific Northwest in a hopeless, doomed effort to reach the Pacific Ocean before Lewis and Clark.

Leila and Damien struggle with his bipolar disorder.