Using a variety of sources, SPYRAL follows one bipolar woman and the impact it has on her family.
Self (archive footage)
Spain, 1950s. Montse's agoraphobia keeps her locked in a sinister apartment in Madrid and her only link to reality is the little sister she lost her youth raising. But one day, a reckless young neighbor, Carlos, falls down the stairwell and drags himself to their door. Someone has entered the shrew's nest... perhaps he'll never leave.
A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives change fundamentally, as if they've been pulled into a war invisible to everyone else. The plot is limited to the most acute, a short period of time and a situation that boils down to the most important thing – to save a loved one. The film was based on the personal experience of the director, who also plays the leading role.
Seemingly mild-mannered businessman Edmond Burke visits a fortuneteller and hears a remark that spurs him to leave his wife abruptly and seek what is missing from his life. Encounters with strangers and unsavory people weaken the barriers encompassing his long-suppressed rage, until Edmond explodes in violence.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has declared a “State of Emergency”, after an outbreak of youth suicides has devastated the community. Due to a lack of Federal assistance, residents have taken prevention efforts into their own hands. A tenacious Oglala Lakota elder takes charge, rallying the community to get involved, while empowering a resilient young group of suicide survivors to band together to help raise awareness.
In Fear, documentary filmmaker Michiel van Erp creates a collage of inhabitants of the city of Amsterdam who struggle with various anxiety disorders. Today, more patients with anxiety disorders seek professional help than those who suffer from depression, making anxiety the number one mental illness in the Netherlands. This film will show how a small number of those patients attempt to overcome their fears, in order to get on with their lives in the crowded cosmopolitan city that Amsterdam is today.
On the surface it seems Jade has it all, including a successful marketing career, a heart surgeon husband who is admired and respected in the community, and a young daughter they both dote on. However, behind closed doors, her life is far from perfect.
In an extremely systematic, oppressive, and controlling school, a student breaks free from collective alienation and sparks a true revolution in their class, fighting for freedom, mental health, and better education quality.
David Harewood had a psychotic breakdown and was sectioned in his 20s. David traces his steps, meeting young people living with psychosis and the NHS professionals who treat them.
In this one-off documentary, Nadiya Hussain sets out to find the cause of her anxiety, exploring the most effective, available treatments.
Jeanne is a black artist in her sixties who hasn't had the career she'd hoped for. She has fallen into a deep depression. Bitter, she is unable to communicate with her thirty-year-old daughter, whose mere presence reminds her of her failures. Will she be able to rise above her bitterness to start living again and break out of her solitude? Perhaps one day.
Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.
On a remote island off the coast of Maine, Liv, after years of silence, begins to weave a language out of Shakespeare's words. A driven neurologist, brought to the island to protect her, commits her to a psychiatric hospital. She becomes a full-blow rebel in the hospital; her increasing violence threatens to keep her locked up for life as she fights for her voice and her freedom.
When the Cows Come Home introduces audiences to Tilly and Maggie, a pair of cows that musician, journalist, artist and cow whisperer, Andrew Johnstone has befriended and subsequently saved from slaughter. The garrulous herdsman is enthusiastic to expound his views on animal husbandry, bovine communication and the vagaries of life in general, before the film walks us back through the events that have shaped the singular farmer-philosopher. From personal family tragedy to warring with Catholic school authorities, innovating in Hamilton’s nascent music scene to creating guerrilla art installations; Johnstone’s life has had a truly idiosyncratic trajectory. Mental health issues may have seen him retreat to life on the farm, but the film makes clear its subject’s restless inquisitiveness is far from being put out to pasture.
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Determined to live, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story—and four other families' stories—fighting a disease medicine forgot.
A man's relationship with a bipolar woman becomes dangerous.
The Wait to Nowhere: When a Crisis Goes Untreated reveals an unspeakable reality: children living in the ER for days, weeks and even months at a time, awaiting dedicated care. This film explores the issue and touches on solutions. True stories are told by those living this nightmare, including hospitals that are caught up in a failed system, while lawmakers help lay out a plan to address the crisis before even more children’s lives are lost.
Discover the power of hope and love in "The Promise" an inspiring new documentary dedicated to suicide prevention. Join us on an emotional journey as we delve into the courageous life of Craig Hamilton, accompanied by heartfelt stories from those who have struggled, lost and survived suicide. This gripping film unravels the raw realities of mental health struggles, shining a light on the importance of real stories from real people. Through conversations and personal experiences, "The Promise" challenges the stigma surrounding mental health and highlights the strength that comes from vulnerability and connection.
Little Mix star Jesy Nelson goes on a journey of rehabilitation as she opens up about abuse she has suffered at the hands of cyberbullies and its effects on her mental health.