During our meeting yesterday, we discussed where we needed to start. Of course this was contacting people. I wrote two emails with Lauren’s help, one to the charities and support groups I had researched, a total of twenty and one to a number of celebrities that had openly discussed their experience with bipolar in the past:
Charity Email:
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing in hope of gathering information and correspondence for a documentary film I am intending to make. I have a deep connection and interest with bipolar disorder, with several family members suffering from the illness. For my final major project as a Broadcast Media student at Maidstone Studios, I am hoping to go on an artistic and informative journey to help me better understand my family's condition, the risk I may have of developing it, and aim to help people talk more opening about bipolar.
Myself and my cinematographer, would like to collaborate with a charity, organisation or support group, and perhaps work with them to produce something they could also benefit from. We are based in Maidstone Kent and would love to get in contact with others who are dealing with bipolar and/or their family members, and give them a chance to be heard.
Although I have many members of my family who suffer from bipolar, I am not sure they would be interested in contributing to the film. I am therefore desperately looking for others who would wish to be part of our project. Although it would be great if people would feel comfortable appearing on camera, this is by no means a necessity, and we would be more than happy for them to tell their story through images and voice over. If you have any contacts regarding researchers, professors and hospitals, I would also be extremely grateful.
I have a working title “Finding Serenity” and would be looking to explore the happy medium between living with bipolar and finding treatment, as it seems to be a large topic between sufferers. Such as not wanting to stifle their creativeness and motivation, but wanting to remain calm and free from depression.
We would be making a fifteen to thirty minute film, using a variety of interview, images, narration and storytelling. My background is in screenwriting and directing. Please feel free to watch our most recent film POPPY, that explores the theme of addiction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8jF9eIpIE . Although this piece is fictional, I have always been drawn to human stories and exploring real situations. If you have any questions about our project or would like more information, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you for taking time to read this email, I look forward to hearing from you shortly with any information, advice or contacts you can provide,
Warmest Regards,
Lauren Howard.
Charity Email:
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing in hope of gathering information and correspondence for a documentary film I am intending to make. I have a deep connection and interest with bipolar disorder, with several family members suffering from the illness. For my final major project as a Broadcast Media student at Maidstone Studios, I am hoping to go on an artistic and informative journey to help me better understand my family's condition, the risk I may have of developing it, and aim to help people talk more opening about bipolar.
Myself and my cinematographer, would like to collaborate with a charity, organisation or support group, and perhaps work with them to produce something they could also benefit from. We are based in Maidstone Kent and would love to get in contact with others who are dealing with bipolar and/or their family members, and give them a chance to be heard.
Although I have many members of my family who suffer from bipolar, I am not sure they would be interested in contributing to the film. I am therefore desperately looking for others who would wish to be part of our project. Although it would be great if people would feel comfortable appearing on camera, this is by no means a necessity, and we would be more than happy for them to tell their story through images and voice over. If you have any contacts regarding researchers, professors and hospitals, I would also be extremely grateful.
I have a working title “Finding Serenity” and would be looking to explore the happy medium between living with bipolar and finding treatment, as it seems to be a large topic between sufferers. Such as not wanting to stifle their creativeness and motivation, but wanting to remain calm and free from depression.
We would be making a fifteen to thirty minute film, using a variety of interview, images, narration and storytelling. My background is in screenwriting and directing. Please feel free to watch our most recent film POPPY, that explores the theme of addiction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX8jF9eIpIE . Although this piece is fictional, I have always been drawn to human stories and exploring real situations. If you have any questions about our project or would like more information, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you for taking time to read this email, I look forward to hearing from you shortly with any information, advice or contacts you can provide,
Warmest Regards,
Lauren Howard.
Celebrity Email:
Dear David Walliams,
I am contacting you regarding a short independent documentary film I am making, titled “Finding Serenity”. The film discusses bipolar disorder, a subject that is very close to my heart. I believe it is a disorder that is still not fully understood, and falls under the stigma currently attached to mental illness. More worryingly, half of those with bipolar go untreated or misdiagnosed, as I’m sure you are aware.
I have several members in my family who suffer with the illness, and I am looking to make a human interest documentary, which explores the highs and lows of a sufferer’s journey. It will aim to explore the balance between retaining their creativeness and the use of medication to suppress feelings of depression and mania.
I am a final year broadcast media student, who has been wanting to do something creative with the subject for a number of years. I would love to have the opportunity to interview someone like yourself, as well as using local people and family members to highlight the spectrum of the illness. I would also wish to explore positives the illness can sometimes create, such as the drive to succeed.
We are in talks with the charity Mind and Bipolar UK to hopefully collaborate with them, and use the short film to help with their campaigns. Although this would be a student project, would you be willing to contribute in some way? Perhaps even by offering a quote on the subject or answering a few questions, which we could use as a voiceover to express your experiences or connection with the disorder. I would be extremely thankful if you could help us in anyway or offer advice that would point me in the right direction. If it is something you would like to be involved with, I am able to send some more information about the project.
Thank you for taking the time to read my request, I look forward to hearing from you. Warmest Regards,
Lauren Howard.
We already found one Bipolar suffer who really wants to be a part of the film John Leslie. After speaking with him, it is clear how passionate he is about people having their voices heard and that bipolar needs to keep being highlighted, as more than 50% of suffers are untreated or undiagnosed, they either take their own lives or carrying on being tormented and living an extremely unhealthy lifestyle.
I then showed Lauren a few interview’s with Stephen Fry and helped explain further the illness, as I have several family members who suffer with the illness and know exactly from personal experience the effect it can have on the whole family. Lauren seemed really interested and we made a start on what we would be seeing visually.
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