Crazywise - Production & Contact Info

Crazywise (2016)
Not Rated
82 min | Documentary

Crazywise (2016)

Not Rated

82 min | Documentary

What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience? During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw ...See moreWhat can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience? During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify "psychotic" symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West. Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning. CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with "mental illness." Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life. CRAZYWISE doesn't aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not every indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications. However, indigenous peoples' acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from. CRAZYWISE adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease without a cure. Written by Phil Borges See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
23 cast members

Name	Known for
Angeles Arrien Self Self See fewer	In Search of the Great Song (2016)
Phil Borges Narrator Narrator See fewer	Postcards from Heaven (2010)
Laura Delano Self Self See fewer	Cause of Death: Unknown (2017)
Carroll Dunham Self Self See fewer	Dealing (2006)
Ekhaya Esima Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Allen Frances Self Self See fewer	Cause of Death: Unknown (2017)
Adam Gentry Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Peter Gotszche Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Stanislav Grof Self Self See fewer	Brainstorm (1983)
Joan Halifax Self Self See fewer	Monte Grande: What Is Life? (2004)
Will Hall Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Sandra Ingerman Self Self See fewer	Guns, Bombs & War: A Love Story (2021)
Denise Maratos Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Gabor Maté Self (as Gabor Mate) Self (as Gabor Mate) See fewer	The Wisdom of Trauma (2021)
Krista McKinnon Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
John Read Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Daniel J. Siegel Self Self See fewer	What Lies Inside (2020)
Dwayne Stone Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Robert Thurman Self Self See fewer	Hamlet (2000)
Fuller Torrey Self (as E. Fuller Torrey) Self (as E. Fuller Torrey) See fewer	God Knows Where I Am (2016)
Alberto Villoldo Self Self See fewer	Vitality (2012)
Roger Walsh Self Self See fewer	Crazywise (2016)
Robert Whitaker Self Self See fewer	Cause of Death: Unknown (2017)