Initial
Statements on Someone Beside You
«A film that is really worth seeing! Profound and moving.
It deals with basic human experiences that will be familiar to
almost anyone who practices meditation. This film deserves an
audience that is open to looking beyond the limits of mere understanding.»
Peter Hofmann, Pastor of the Reformed
Protestant Church in Fällanden; member of the regional psychiatry
commission at the Burghölzli clinic, Zurich
«Edgar Hagen's film offers a more intimate and authentic
look at the essence of psychosis and thus leads us to a more profound
and compassionate understanding of life with psychosis than any
other film documentary I have seen so far.
The film an important contribution to de-stigmatizing the mentally
ill, and I can only warmly recommend it to everyone, even those
viewers who have no prior knowledge of the topic.»
Dr. med. Andreas Andreae, Medical
Director, ipw <> Integrierte Psychiatrie Winterthur
«Someone Beside You opens a door to the very heart of the
psychotic experience. It allows us to witness what severe mental
illness can mean to those directly affected and those close to
them. The film demonstrates compellingly how differently individuals
experience and deal with mental disorders and how important it
is both to take these individual differences into account and
involve members of the patients' family and social network in
their treatment and care.»
Vereinigung der Angehörigen von Schizophrenie-
und Psychisch-Kranken, VASK Zurich (Association of Family Members
of Schizophrenics and the Mentally Ill)
«In the film “Someone Beside You,” Edgar Hagen’s
poetic depiction of the human experience of psychosis captures
the raw, brutal and often torturous quality of the disorder. In
balance, he also shows the brilliance and reality of the possibility
of recovery, stunningly embodied by “Karen,” the first
Windhorse project client. A thread that weaves throughout the
movie is that we are all fundamentally sane, and that mental disorders
exist in a secondary position to the sanity. In very poignant
footage taken just months before his death, Dr. Edward Podvoll
embodies the gentle confidence in people’s intrinsic sanity,
and that through skilled and basic human respect and relationship,
people can achieve genuine recovery. It is clear that Edgar Hagen
has a deep and accurate feeling for the widely misunderstood subject
of the movie. Given the unnecessary suffering created by that
misunderstanding, this is a profoundly important movie.»
Chuck Knapp, Co-Director Windhorse Community
Services, Boulder Colorado, USA
«My name is Jeffrey Fortuna and I am co-founder of the Windhorse
Project, which is featured in Edgar Hagen’s superb new film.
I have known and worked with many of the persons portrayed here,
for many years, and I feel that Edgar has portrayed all of them
in very deep and realistic way. The essence of each person clearly
comes to us through the relationship lens Mr. Hagen shares with
each person. It is Mr. Hagen’s intimate relationship with
each person in the context of his deeply probing artistic vision
that gives this film its power. This is the power to show the
true face of mental illness; to equally show the lonely ravages
and the courage to recover. Here is a film that invites us to
look directly at this true face of mental illness, and not turn
away. Who could turn away from such compelling persons portrayed
in such a deeply felt way? Mr. Hagen bears faithful witness to
such persons and yet is totally immersed in relationship with
them, hence he is not neutral but a fully participating witness.
He generously shares with us what he has seen and lived through
in the making of this film which is nothing less than the pathos
and promise of mental illness fully lived. I wish to express my
gratitude to Mr. Hagen for devoting himself to such an arduous
task, and to acknowledge the penetrating beauty and poignancy
that his remarkable film offers to us.»
Jeffrey Fortuna, Co-Founder of the
Windhorse-Project, Co-Director Windhorse Community Services, Boulder
Colorado, USA
«…Edgar came to Boulder and I viewed the finished
movie with him… I was very moved and impressed by the film’s
sophistication and artistry. Its message is deep, yet subtle,
and it speaks for itself. Edgar seems to have found the 'heart'
of each person and brought it out in the film… And he was
able to skillfully direct the camera to get to the heart of my
story… This experiment with the filming, and sharing my
secrets has been healing for me.»
Karen on her relationship to the
film
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