Film aims to reframe the perception of mental illness

Many say a culture of fear has pushed mental illness to the fringes of society, but one documentary is determined to bring it back.

The documentary, “Of Two Minds,” focuses on bipolar disorder, those affected and the stigma surrounding it.

Writer and co-director Lisa Klein, who will appear at Chapel Hill’s public showing today, said she hopes to humanize a mental disorder often discredited in society.

“If someone calls in sick with diabetes, it’s no problem,” she said. “But if you call out saying, ‘I’m depressed,’ there is no real understanding or compassion.”

The documentary was filmed in honor of Klein’s late sister, who struggled with bipolar disorder and later died from self-medication.

Following the compelling stories of several people with bipolar disorder, Klein said, the film aims to replace prejudice with compassion and understanding.

“It’s much more of a character-driven piece than an academic or educational film,” Klein said.

Donna Smith, the documentary’s spokeswoman and mother of a son with bipolar disorder, said the goal of the film is to give people with mental illness the authority to define what illness means in relation to their own lives.

“I think so much that’s in the media and on TV doesn’t really talk about what it’s like to live with a mental illness from the perspective of someone with the mental illness,” Smith said.

Triangle resident Tiffany Tirico, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 12, said understanding and support is vital to those with mental illnesses.

“My mother has been the most amazing support system,” Tirico said. “There is no way I would still be alive without her.”

Tirico said that during her nervous breakdown while away from home, her mother would drive from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., three times a week to visit.

Tirico said she has battled breakdowns and suicidal thoughts since her diagnosis but has refused to let her mental illness govern her future.

“I never thought that I would have a why to live,” she said. “But I do.”

Tirico said she is working toward a license in therapy and her masters in professional counseling through Liberty University.

“I’ve lived a life where as a kid I needed help, as an adolescent I needed help and as an adult I’ve needed help,” she said. “I can relate to everyone.”

Tirico said she is stronger because of her illness and hopes that people walk away from the film with a better understanding of both bipolar disorder and the people whose lives are affected by it.

“The illness itself doesn’t define a person­­­­­ — the person defines the person,” she said.

“Of Two Minds” follows people like Tirico, who give a human face to a once anonymous ailment.

Through empathy, Klein said, she hopes her film will unite a society of two minds under one heart.

“It might be mental illness, divorce or a broken leg, but we’re all going through something, and we want to humanize it.”

After all, people are people.

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.