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Bedlam (2019 film)

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

| name = BEDLAM

| image =

| alt = BEDLAM documentary film poster

| caption =

| director = Kenneth Paul Rosenberg

| producer =

| writers =

| narrator = Kenneth Paul Rosenberg

| music =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| production_companies =

| distributor = Roco Films

| released =

| runtime = 86 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

'Bedlam' is a 2019 American feature-length documentary directed, produced, and written by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg. Produced, and written by Peter Miller, co-produced by Joan Churchill and Alan Barker, edited by Jim Cricchi, with additional editing by James Holland, it immerses us in the national crisis surrounding care of people with serious mental illness through intimate stories of patients, families, and medical providers.

Filmed over five years, 'Bedlam' brings us inside one of America's busiest psychiatric emergency rooms, into jails where psychiatric patients are warehoused, and to the homes and homeless encampments of members of our communities affected with serious mental illness, where silence and shame often compound personal suffering. The story is told in part by director Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD, a psychiatrist as well as a filmmaker, whose own life journey has been profoundly impacted by a family member with a serious mental illness.

The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Synopsis



To get to the bottom of the current mental health crisis in the United States, psychiatrist and documentarian Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD chronicles the personal, poignant stories of those with serious mental illness, including his own family, to bring to light to this epidemic and possible solutions. Shot over the course of five years, 'Bedlam' takes viewers inside the LAC+USC Medical Center's overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced psych ER, a nearby jail warehousing thousands of psychiatric patients, and the homes and homeless encampments of people affected by serious mental illness, where silence and shame often worsen the suffering.

The film follows the lives of three patients in particular who find themselves with a chronic lack of institutional support, while weaving in Rosenberg's own story of how the system failed his late sister, Merle, and her battle with schizophrenia. Featuring interviews with experts, activists, individuals living with a mental illness, and their families, 'Bedlam' builds on historical footage and commentary related to mental health, exploring the rise of this issue on a national scale in the mid- and late-20th century. The film includes the story of Patrisse Cullors and her brother Monte. During the course of filming, Patrisse co-founded Black Lives Matter as well as other advocacy organizations, based on her witnessing her brother's battle with serious mental illness, repeated arrests and incarceration.

Release



Accepted as a rough cut, 'Bedlam' was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival 2019 documentary competition. After Sundance, in 2019, the film's team spent 12 months to re-edit 'Bedlam' for commercial release and added new scenes, including a groundbreaking cancellation of a proposed "mental health jail" in Los Angeles, the result of a community movement led by the film's subject Patrisse Cullors, during the months after the film's 2019 Sundance Film Festival screening.Rosenberg, Kenneth Paul (31 May 2019). [https://www.sundance.org/blogs/mental-health-doc-bedlam-helped-to-halt-plans-for-an-la-medical-jailbut-theres-still-more-to-do-for-nationwide-reform Mental Health Doc Bedlam Helped to Halt Plans for an LA Medical JailBut There's Still More to Do for Nationwide Reform]. Sundance Institute. The theatrical film premiered at the Pan African Film Festival on 15 February 2020. The film was also shown at DOC NYC,Brunsting, Joshua (6 November 2019). [https://criterioncast.com/festivals/doc-nyc/doc-nyc-2019-preview-ten-films-to-see-at-this-years-festival DOC NYC 2019 Preview: Ten Films to See at This Year's Festival]. 'CriterionCast.com'. Double Exposure Film Festival,Berg, Jay (3 January 2020). [https://filmfestivaltoday.com/fft-festival-coverage/jay-bergs-2019-double-exposure-investigative-film-festival-coverage Jay Berg's 2019 Double Exposure (Investigative Film Festival) Coverage]. 'Film Festival Today'. Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival,(25 October 2019). [https://festival.hsdfi.org/2019/movies/bedlam/ BEDLAM]. Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Nashville Film Festival, and others film festivals. In March 2020, nearly 100 single screenings and a theatrical release were cancelled because of the COVID-19 crisis. On 13 April 2020, 'Bedlam' was broadcast on PBS's Independent Lens. On the morning before the broadcast, the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board urged viewers to watch the film, comparing it to other landmark films about America's mental health system.The Times Editorial Board (13 April 2020). [https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-13/bedlam-mental-health-breakdown Editorial: 'Bedlam' shows us what we've done to our mental health system]. 'Los Angeles Times'. Since broadcast, Bedlam has been shown free-of-charge to communities across America on PBS.org.

Reception



'Bedlam' has been acclaimed by critics. , the film holds approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews with an average score of . Sheri Linden at 'The Hollywood Reporter' said the film is "a haunting and trenchant look at failed public policy."Linden, Sheri (28 January 2019). [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/bedlam-review-1174685 'Bedlam': Film Review | Sundance 2019]. 'The Hollywood Reporter'. The film was called "a stick of dynamite thrown into the dark and troubled history of mental health care for those with serious mental illness" by Lloyd Sederer, MD in Psychology Today.Sederer, Lloyd, MD (6 October 2019). [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/therapy-it-s-more-just-talk/201910/natcon19-film-festival Natcon19 Film Festival]. 'Psychology Today'. At RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico said Bedlam was "partially a wake-up call and partially a somber reminder of how much we've failed people over the last century."Tallerico, Brian (29 January 2019). [https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sundance-2019-always-in-season-bedlam Sundance 2019: Always in Season, Bedlam]. RogerEbert.com. It's "required viewing by all Americans" according to Sezin Koehler at Black Girl Nerds.Koehler, Sezin (1 February 2019). [https://blackgirlnerds.com/sundance-2019-review-bedlam/ Sundance 2019 Review: 'Bedlam']. Black Girl Nerds. Bedlam has been used by advocates for mental health and criminal justice reform in Los Angeles, including [http://voteyesonr.org Vote Yes on R], [https://bldpwr.com BLD PWR], and the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health.(8 January 2020). [https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/01/08/1968018/0/en/Why-We-Rise-Announces-Changing-Lives-Through-TV-Film-Series.html Why We Rise Announces "Changing Lives Through TV & Film" Series: Addressing Mental Health and Wellbeing in Los Angeles County]. Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Nationally, the film has been screened by the American Psychiatric Association, the Kennedy Forum, MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Peg's Foundation, Treatment Advocacy Center, Vera Institute of Justice, and other organizations to raise awareness of mental health issues and advance national reforms.

Book



In October 2019, Penguin Random House published 'BEDLAM: An Intimate Journey into America's Mental Health Crisis', a book that expanded on the themes in the film, 'Bedlam', and offered concrete solutions, written by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD with Jessica DuLong. The book featured interviews with experts including Elyn Saks, Law Professor at the University of Southern California School of Law and a person with schizophrenia and Norman Ornstein and Judith L. Harris, whose son died during his bout with serious mental illness. Upon book release, the Los Angeles Times published Dr. Rosenberg's op-ed entitled "Mental Illness was my family's secret - and America's great shame."Rosenberg, Kenneth Paul, MD (29 September 2019). [https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-26/mental-illness-treatment-schizophrenia-law-los-angeles-jail Opinion: Mental illness was my family's secret and America's great shame]. 'Los Angeles Times'. The book was recommended by Norman Ornstein. Peter D. Kramer, MD, called it "the definitive book on serious mental illness" and Allen Frances, MD, wrote that the book "describes this American nightmare with the stark vividness of painful first-hand experiences - as brother, as psychiatrist and visionary documentary filmmaker who explains how we got into this barbaric mess and suggests common sense, cost-effective ways to regain our societal sanity."

References




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