Director/producer/writer of the documentary, No One Cares, screening at Open Mind on March 1st.
No One Cares About Crazy People is a feature documentary film about the tragedy, crisis and chaos of severe mental illness in America – and a burgeoning national crusade to do something about it
Narrated by Bob Odenkirk
Original Music written & recorded by Jeff Tweedy
Watch the TRAILER
Inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name, No One Cares About Crazy People is an intimate deep dive into the crisis and chaos of severe mental illness in America. A heartbreaking family memoir and searing social history, it is personal and immersive – but also tracks a burgeoning grassroots movement to reinvent our failed systems. Narrated by actor Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) with original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.
With narration by actor Bob Odenkirk and original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, No One Cares About Crazy People goes deep inside the tragedy, chaos and crisis of severe mental illness in America. It was inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name, a hybrid narrative of heartbreaking family memoir and searing social history. The film is intimate and immersive (filled with powerful verité scenes), but also tracks the emergence of a grassroots movement to reinvent our disastrous mental health “system.” It’s timely, poignant, powerful, intense – and also, ultimately, hopeful.
The documentary humanizes the face of mental illness with a small cast of memorable characters. Powers – a bestselling author & Pulitzer and Emmy award-winner – is father to two schizophrenic sons, the younger of whom, a musical prodigy, took his own life in the Vermont family basement a week before his 21st birthday. We also witness – in real time — the almost inconceivable story of Mark Rippee, floridly psychotic, blind and, for almost 16 years, unhoused on the streets of Vacaville, California, despite his sisters’ fierce advocacy. That advocacy is part of a burgeoning crusade, spearheaded by family members – people like Taun Hall, whose son Miles, a young black man, was shot and killed by police in 2019 outside his Walnut Creek, CA home, in the midst of a mental health emergency.
The roots of this national crisis trace back over half a century, and today we live with the legacy of all those failed policies. California has emerged as an epicenter of reform action. No One Cares follows that action for three+ years, as a series of bold but controversial initiatives make their way through the halls of power. Governor Gavin Newsom weighs in on why he’s embraced this political hot potato issue. COVID brought mental health challenges to public attention more than ever. But the sickest and neediest were just as desperate before, and their complex plight still receives scant notice. This film changes that.
Gail Freedman, director/producer
https://noonecaresfilm.com
Inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name, No One Cares About Crazy People is an intimate deep dive into the crisis and chaos of severe mental illness in America. A heartbreaking family memoir and searing social history, it is personal and immersive – but also tracks a burgeoning grassroots movement to reinvent our failed systems. Narrated by actor Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) with original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.
With narration by actor Bob Odenkirk and original music by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, No One Cares About Crazy People goes deep inside the tragedy, chaos and crisis of severe mental illness in America. It was inspired by Ron Powers’ acclaimed book of the same name, a hybrid narrative of heartbreaking family memoir and searing social history. The film is intimate and immersive (filled with powerful verité scenes), but also tracks the emergence of a grassroots movement to reinvent our disastrous mental health “system.” It’s timely, poignant, powerful, intense – and also, ultimately, hopeful.
The documentary humanizes the face of mental illness with a small cast of memorable characters. Powers – a bestselling author & Pulitzer and Emmy award-winner – is father to two schizophrenic sons, the younger of whom, a musical prodigy, took his own life in the Vermont family basement a week before his 21st birthday. We also witness – in real time — the almost inconceivable story of Mark Rippee, floridly psychotic, blind and, for almost 16 years, unhoused on the streets of Vacaville, California, despite his sisters’ fierce advocacy. That advocacy is part of a burgeoning crusade, spearheaded by family members – people like Taun Hall, whose son Miles, a young black man, was shot and killed by police in 2019 outside his Walnut Creek, CA home, in the midst of a mental health emergency.
The roots of this national crisis trace back over half a century, and today we live with the legacy of all those failed policies. California has emerged as an epicenter of reform action. No One Cares follows that action for three+ years, as a series of bold but controversial initiatives make their way through the halls of power. Governor Gavin Newsom weighs in on why he’s embraced this political hot potato issue. COVID brought mental health challenges to public attention more than ever. But the sickest and neediest were just as desperate before, and their complex plight still receives scant notice. This film changes that.
Gail Freedman, director/producer
https://noonecaresfilm.com
