“Without support you will die.” says Dave, 61, who has battled bipolar illness for over three decades.

the goal.

Under the direction of Dr. Ari Zaretsky, Chief, Department of Psychiatry, the Sunnybrook Foundation commissioned Q Media to created five powerful, first person short films on the challenges of living with a bi-polar diagnosis. He wanted to showcase a diverse group of individuals who were willing to “come out of the darkness” and into the light to illuminate the complexity of living day-to-day with the disorder. Dr. Zaretsky’s goal was to create a series of videos and written narratives that would educate providers, patients and families what life is like after diagnosis and treatment. He believes that although bipolar is a serious condition, it can be managed with proper care and support.

our approach.

When thinking about how to get the best stories, we started the process with rigorous in person pre-interviews. We do this to find subjects that are articulate, passionate and committed to sharing their intimate fears and feelings about their condition. After three months of interviews we selected five very different subjects to feature. In order to create powerful and authentic stories, we worked to ensure all the subjects understood the time, energy and emotional commitment it would take. We spent over six months with our subjects conducting in-depth interviews for both the video series and written narratives.

the subjects.

The five subjects range in age from Lauren, 22 to Dave, 61. These are tough, honest accounts of a highly misunderstood and stigmatized condition. Joanna, 38, a successful practicing psychiatrist opens up about the professional and ethical decisions of telling her story to her patients, and the world. Cristina, a mother of three, talks about the shame and guilt when she feels out of control battling the disease. And Efren, who speaks eloquently about his journey which lead him to seek ECT to battle his serious depression. The stories of these brave subjects will forever change how you think about this difficult diagnosis.

the microsite.

We created and designed the microsite outofdarkness.ca with our digital partner Vanquished Media where the long narrative stories, written by award-winning NYTimes contributor Gabrielle Glaser could sit alongside their powerful video stories alongside links to support and educational resources.

the launch.

The series was shown at international conferences to get initial feedback from psychiatrists and educators in Denver and Ottawa. Then on Thursday May 12^th, at the world premiere of Out of Darkness, the films were screened at Sunnybrook’s McLaughlin Auditorium. The screening included an interactive panel hosted by mental health advocate Michael Landsberg. The sold-out event clearly demonstrated that the power of personal stories will go a long way to help both caregivers and healthcare providers in better understanding the stigma, shame and ultimately strength that bipolar suffers face in managing their condition day-to-day.

Dr. Zaretsky notes: “all the stories are powerful films intended to educate health care professionals and build empathy for the people and their families working to function and thrive with this complex condition.”