The ability to see through the eyes of another holds the key to empathy, and I mean ‘see’ in its most expansive of definitions. And such empathy exists as a quality that might transform the complexion of everything. This film reveals the experience of a world through the eyes of paranoid schizophrenia.
Imagine your life, or your child’s life following its course and then an abrupt and brutal turn. The sudden onset of Schizophrenia. A violent shock to what was. A loss. At a loss. And a soul rendered desolate and alone.
‘It is like a miracle. I’ve got a son back that I thought I’d lost. We’re probably closer now than we’ve ever been but it did start in a difficult place.’ A film of hope and light from a seemingly dark and endless place.
In the complex landscape of Schizophrenia, I imagine Compassionate Care should not be absent. Care that is unconditional. Care that is full of hope and of possibility.
A Portrait Series that has set out to capture the very human experience of Schizophrenia. Such experience might have something to show us all.
Start with Nothing. No-thing. No act on your part. For this moment in time set down your requirements. Let the experience of each film subject find you, not you them. Like the experience of music. Witnessing is not an act on your part. Let it. Simply let it.
When we are seen without judgment or condition, we are known. When we are known, we become aware that we belong to each other. It is such an awareness that might change the world. These are essential notes on how best to experience these film portraits.