Reimagining A Buffalo Landmark

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

Scritti dall'interno

A nocturnal journey inside the abandoned spaces of the former Collegno mental hospital. Through the writings from within - the voices of the letters, diaries and testimonies of the internees - the labyrinthine and crumbling rooms come back to life and evoke the painful past of the psychiatric hospital. They tell of the electroshocks and tortures on adults and children carried out by Doctor Giorgio Coda, the "electrician" from Collegno. They tell of the official trial against him for torture and of the proletarian trial that Coda suffered at the hands of a Prima Linea group, led by one of his "patients". Only at dawn, with the story of the closure of the mental hospitals, will we see the light again.

Psychiatry in Russia

In 1955, Albert Maysles traveled by motorcycle throughout Russia. During this trip, he shot what was to become his first film, 'Psychiatry in Russia', an unprecedented view into Soviet mental healthcare. Originally televised by the David Garroway Show on NBC-TV in 1956.

The Women at Själö

"You who enter, leave all your hope behind." Själö was Finland's first mental hospital. The hospital opened in 1622. Intended for those suffering leprosy. But Själö hospital also had a secret ward. A house for the insane. The ungodly and mentally ill were deposited here forever and their property fell to the church. In 1889 Själö became a storage area for women with "unbearable insanity".

On the Edge

Things are busy at the Paris hospital where young psychiatrist Jamal and his colleagues work. The place is run down, the staff are exhausted, budgets are constantly being slashed. You know the story, but you’ve rarely seen it conveyed as engagingly as in ‘On the Edge’, which employs a handheld camera and meaningful, artistic interventions to observe the daily routine at the psychiatric ward. The deeply sympathetic Jamal is an everyday hero with an exemplary, humanistic disposition, for whom the most important prerequisites for mental health – and for a healthy society in general – are good relationships with other people. He puts his philosophy into practice by listening patiently, giving good advice and organising theatre exercises based on Molière. Realism and idealism, however, are in balance for the young doctor, at least as long as the institutional framework holds up.

Afterword: Images of the Unconscious

Dialoguing directly with the trilogy of documentaries “Images of the Unconscious”, made between 1983 and 1986 and based on clinical cases and therapies with a humanist approach and artistic expression, conducted by the pioneering psychiatrist Nise da Silveira (1905-1999) – screenwriter of that film –, here is presented, in two parts, an interview with the doctor, a student of Carl Jung and a pioneer in the application of non-violent treatments for psychiatric patients, given to director Leon Hirszman, in 1986. The conversation is divided in two parts: the first, "The emotion of dealing", the second, "The egress".

L'albero storpio

Hold mig fast. Før jeg forsvinder

Nola

In the documentary Nola, we follow the 24 year old Daniëlle and her psychosocial assistance dog. Daniëlle has been struggling with her anxiety disorder for years and has tried many forms of therapy to no avail. Therefore, assistance dog Nola is her last hope for recovery.

The Cramps: Live at Napa State Mental Hospital

The concert was recorded with a black-and-white video camera and a single microphone on June 13, 1978.

Sluten Avdelning

Maud Nycander has over one and a half years, filmed a psychiatric emergency ward at St. Göran's Hospital in Stockholm.

Jaime

Jaime, a poem of suffering and loneliness, describes the existence and pictorial work of a man isolated in a psychiatric hospital.

A Stowaway on the Ship of Fools

The story takes place in the Belgrade mental hospital on Guberevac during the WWI, where notable Serbian writer Petar Kočić spends his last years of life. The safety of mental hospital in a war-torn Belgrade is disrupted when the deputy military governor in occupied Belgrade, Kosta Herman, finds out that Kočić is in the hospital and decides to settle old scores with him.

Shutter

When Jane and Tun run over a girl in a car accident, they speed away immediately from the crime scene. However, Tun, a photographer, soon discovers strange shadows in his photos, which unsettles them.

Changeling

Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.

Skeleton Crew

Back in the early 1970s, at a mental institution near the Russian border, a crazed doctor, Dr. Anderson assumed the persona of "the Auteur," and began murdering his patients while filming the atrocities. Thirty years later, an American film crew has arrived at the hospital to shoot a horror film based on those awful events. The director, Steven, is determined to make the film as realistic as possible, a goal that doesn't seem too far-fetched when his Finnish sound men discover a hidden room in the hospital basement. There, perfectly preserved, are the original snuff films shot by "the Auteur". As Steven's obsession grows, his cast and crew begin to fear for his sanity. But this is only the beginning, because when Steven discovers actual camera used by "the Auteur", he assumes the role of the murderous doctor and the real slaughter begins.

Barefoot

A hedonistic bachelor - he is his rich family's black sheep - falls for a suicidal mental patient.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. Few believe the young woman’s lurid stories aside from the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard. Kirsty is undeterred and, with the help of a fellow patient, heads to Hell for a rescue.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

After being released from a mental hospital, a troubled young man tracks down an actress he once had sex with and forces her into captivity, determined to make her part of his life.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.