Sunday, April 15th will be the next monthly community documentary screening in the Old Cobargo Butter Factory at 3.30pm
Crazywise A film by Phil Borges Melinda & Aly will present the documentary CRAZYWISE and lead a discussion on the subject after the screening. The proceeds will go to the Women's Resource Centre (WRC), Bega. What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience? During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify ‘psychotic’ symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West. Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning. Crazywise follows two young Americans diagnosed with ‘mental illness’. Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life. Crazywise doesn’t aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not every indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications. However, indigenous peoples’ acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from. Crazywise adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/crazywise
The April doco 'Crazy Wise' will be the last monthly community screening before the winter stop. We'll start the next series of community screenings in September with some very inspiring docos lined up! Thank you very much for your support of CobargoDocos!
