Street roots
9 *
Marcii 14, 2014
HIDING, from page 8
A recent report by the
Portland Police
B ureau recorded 202
suicides in Portland
between A pril 2011
a nd June 2013,
nearly twice the
num ber o f people
killed in homicides or
traffic accidents
combined. The
average age o f those
who committed
suicide was ju st •
under 45 years old.
The oldest person is .
89. Tlie youngest was
10.
health, it was about two main things. I heard
that people (with mental illness) in low-
people recover from mental illness. And now, income countries often do better because of
for the past 10 years, I’ve been doing
extended families and inclusive, communities.
documentaries on mental health conditions^
And I also heard that things are so different
so I’ve come full circle.
culturally that;we can’t understand mental
illness in these countries and vice-versa.
R.L.: And what inspired you to become a
With that in mind, I headed to different
filmmaker?
countries, but ultimately the stories wére
incredibly hidden because the medical
D.R.: Since I was young, realistic stories
systems have almost no mental health care
are the ones I gravitated to. When I was 11,
in them.
my favorite film was “Small Change,” by
The shame experienced by families facing
(Francos) Truffaut. Meanwhile, I was
mental illness is often quite extreme in
fortunate to know documentary filmmakers
countries where I filmed, such as India and
growing up so I saw that doing this type of 1
China, and families may even hide the
filmmaking was possible. The real clincher
presence of mental illness from extended
was seeing how filmmakers such as Judith
family members. Meanwhile, unlike the U'S/
Helfand (“Healthy Baby Girl;” “Blue Vinyl”)
and the U.K., there are no /advocacy groups
were able to elevate the impact of their films , to educate and support such families.
through multilayered filmmaking and
Therefore, it’s a world where the main,
collaboration-based awareness campaigns;
message is that mental illness doesn’t exist.
I realized I wanted to make documentaries And if it doe? exist, it’s hidden’ And as a
that could inspire change for the better. The
government, as a society, we don’t have any
key is that for a film to create'change'it must responsibility to offer treatment or support.
touch us emotionally. If we feel guilt, we
might want to apologize. If we feel shame,
R.L.: In making “Hidden Pictures” yòu
we might want tó hide. And if we feel
went from country to CQuntry and had extreme
compassion, We may indeed want to act to
difficulty finding subjects. In India, after
improve a situation.
several refusals, you finally met Sonai, the
daughter of a doctor, and you presented her
R.L,: It’s surprising too that you’re the
story.' _
writer, director, narrator, producer and
cinematographer of your films. And you’re a
D.R.: Yes. Again, they were not excited tp
skilled storyteller with an artist’s eye for
be in the documentary. I ultimately found
compelling images. Can you talk about doing
out that they had only recently revealed to
all of that?
their extended family that Sonai had
significant mental illness — a form of
DiR.: It’s been.a curse and a blessing. It
schizophrenia. When they had family
allows me a lot of freedom to not have to do
gatherings, they [said] that Sonai had to
as much fundraising when I can do certain
study, and that was a way theyhid their
parts myself but that, of course, comes at a'
secret for a couple of years.- It was the
cost and it makes the projects .take longer.
antithesis of an extended, supportive family.
The upside is that I can get my gear and I’m
I heard this over and over. The stories I
all set to go.
show are truly representative for what is -
happening for many people in these
R.L.: In your film, “Unlisted, ” on your dad’s countrjasA.Ina ji of Delhi, a city
struggle with schizophrenia, you recount how
million people, there wereonly three-day
you hid from him for years, but then
treatment programs and only two supportive
reconnected and produced the film. How did
housing units I could find. That is shocking.
that come about?
Also shocking is [the] fact that there are only
4,000 psychiatrists in all of India [with a
D*R: I was in medical school and received . population of more than one billion].
a page that would completely change the
And time and time again, I found that a
course of my life. My neighbor said there
complete, lack of a community mental health
was a man at the door screaming about Jesus system is the norm. It means that over and
and saying that he was my father. J was
over one person — in Sonal’s case her
shocked because this was the first time my
mother — is doing all of the work and is not
dad came 400 miles looking for me.
getting a break fromthe repetitive, difficult
I took him to the (Stanford) psychiatric
and challenging behaviors that cóme: with
ER right where I was a medical student.
serious mental illness.
They said that there was nothing they could
do for him, and I tried to get him help other
R.L.: In the China sequence, you mentioned
places. That brought up the painful cycle that that there’s only one residential mental health
many family members face.
facility in Beijing, a city of 20 million people.
. When I disconnected with my father, I felt
a lot of shame about it, but I had to move
D.R.: Exactly. I was told that the hospital,
forward. Then, when l became a doctor, I
where I filmed was the only one in Beijing
[and] the only options for a mentally ill
saw how many families are disconnected
person are a big government hospital or
because of silence in the family or not
home. To me, that lack of options is
getting support from the medical system. I
shocking.
decided that when I reconnected with my
The fact is that 60 percent of countries
father I would make a documentary.
don’t have well-thought-out mental health
That launched my becoming a mental
legislation. I hope that [the World Health
health advocate and that’s how the film
Organization] putting mental health high on
changed ihe. As I did it, so many people
its agenda will give voice to people and
came forward and shared their stories. It’s
protect their human rights and stop
only through talking about these things that
discrimination. ,
we can learn the ways to get treatment and
support.
R.L.: Your subject “J e ff in Beijing is -
confined to a mental hospital until his family
R.L.: How did you move from your dad’s
agrees to release him, and there’s no legal
story in “Unlisted” to your new film on global
review of his status. It seems he was
mental health, “Hidden Pictures?”
misdiagnosed and displayed no signs of a
mental disorder when you saw him. Your
D.R.: As I worked on thè film about my
concern for him was palpable.
father, it bothered me that there was no
documentary on global mental health. There
D.R.: Whatever led Jeff’s father to
was a bizarre silence, particularly being
(commit Jeff) — people speculate that it
based in Seattle, which is a mecca for global
might have been Jeff’s sexual orientation — I
health.
was
shocked that Jeff didn’t just leave. One
I learned from the story about my father
thing is that his father had his identity card,
the j)ower of honest storytelling to elicit
and you really have to have it in China.
conversation and compassion. And, as I grew
Without this card, Jeff would have a hard
up, I was very much interested in other
time functioning in this society. I really was
cultures, so the combination made me
frustrated, but I appreciate that there’s so
interested in the topic.
much that’s kept silent about hard issues in
Before starting the film, if I heard
families in certain cultures;
anything at all related to global mental
R.L.: You stress that housing creates stability
and is very important in addressing mental
illness.
D.R.: There’s great evidence now that
housing-first works. Even in a poor mental
state, getting housing and other supports can
be transformational to the point where [the
mentally ill] seek counseling and medication
and the array of support.
R.L.: To illustrate your point on housing,
you tell the story of Patricia in the Seattle area.
She met Jeff, a homeless man, and she took him
into her home and provided a caring
environment. How did you find that story?
D.R.: I met them when they came into the
Pike Market Medical Clinic (in Seattle). She
was so unassuming and so sweet (and) was
very new in helping to care for him. For
many years he had
been homeless on
the street, and he
w ld e n e
spent his days in the th a t housing fir s t works«
library. She’d also
see him yelling into a E v e a ln a poor m e a ta l stated
phone, talking to no g e ttin g ke n sla g a iii. o i l i e r
one, or pacing and
s ii» o r t s -can be
agitated. He had
Ira a slo rm a tio B a l to the p o in t
extreme mental
whore
(the ffie a la lly fill} seek
illness (but) he did
come to live with her counseling and m e d ica tio n
and was stable.
Patricia is one of
those angel people
doing the work.
R.L.: 7« your film, you mention programs in
the schools to build this awareness of mental
disorders and combat the stigma of mental
illness.
D.R.: It’s such a missed opportunity that
most schools across the globe do not teach
about mental health and mental illness.
When I show my films in elementary and
high schools, the level of curiosity of the
human brain, of our behavior, and of mental
illness is remarkable.
Teaching about mental health and mental
illness in schools, using real life personal
stories, can have a big impact, particularly in
two areas. The first is to educate students to
help themselves and their families and
friends. And second, by teaching in a way
that inspires compassion, students will
develop empathy that can translate to a
future inspired to help improve lives. As a
science- driven country, why not incorporate
education around mental health into the
science curriculum?
R.L.: Do you see hopeful developments?
D.R.: I’m always looking for solutions. I’ve
never been into making documentaries that
just show hard reality.
I spent last year as . a Fulbright Scholar in
India doing stories on community mental
health workers. Many nonprofit organizations
are training people to be out in the
community in India to find people and give
them support, around mental health.
What’s interesting recently is that our
federal government also believes that we
need more community mental health care
workers and has given a lot of money for
implementation research.
A fewweeks ago, I met with one of the
recipients in Seattle to learn about what care
coordinators are doing here, and many of
them use the counseling technique called
behavioral activation for treating depression.
I saw the same technique being used
successfully in a village of India (and)
research; shows the tool is effective in all
sorts of settings.
Indeed, one of my key take-home points
from making “Hidden Pictures” is that,
unlike the myth that our experiences
globally are too diverse to understand and
help, in fact, our experiences at the very
core are much more similar than different,
and global solutions are possible.
Reprinted from Real Change News, Seattle,
Wash.