No One Cares About Crazy People

This ReelAbilities Ohio Film Festival screening of No One Cares About Crazy People features a fusion of intimate storytelling and broad reporting that humanizes the face of severe mental illness. The documentary follows a small cast of memorable characters in real time over several years as they—and also their families—navigate a system that too often seems to conspire against them. The historic roots of this national crisis are traced, as well as the emergence of bold but controversial activism that seeks to reinvent those failed policies. Inspired by the book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Ron Powers. With narration by actor Bob Odenkirk and original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. In English with open captions. (96 mins., DCP)

Stay after the screening for a discussion of the issues of the film and actions that can be taken between filmmaker Gail Freedman and Darrell E. Herrmann, a retired United States Army officer and computer programmer who has lived with schizophrenia for more than 40 years. Hermann works with the CURESZ Foundation and has recently turned his focus to the National Shattering Silence Coalition. The talk will be moderated by Danielle Smith, executive director of the National Social Work Association, Ohio Chapter, and lecturer at Ohio State. 

IMAGE CAPTION
No One Cares About Crazy People, courtesy of Linda Privatte.