Inspired by the critically acclaimed book BrainStorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum by Sara Schley, BrainStorm the documentary film aims to crush the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder, save lives, and enhance healing for millions of individuals on the bipolar spectrum.
The powerful documentary showcases compelling narratives of individuals living with bipolar disorder, integrates cutting-edge brain science, and highlights breakthrough treatments. It delivers a powerful message of hope, emphasizing that with accurate diagnosis, proper treatment, and wellness strategies, those with bipolar disorder can lead fulfilling and meaningful lives.
BrainStorm is a project of Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization.
Bios:
Sara Schley is the Producer, Co-Writer, and author of the memoir, BrainStorm. Sara is a business consultant, social change entrepreneur, speaker, and author who has led systemic transformation at renowned companies around the world. She is a mother, grandmother, community leader, and has been married for twenty-six years. She also has a bipolar II brain on the bipolar spectrum. Sara has kept this mostly secret for four decades. Sara has a BA from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts.
Bonnie Waltch, Director, Producer, and Writer has been involved in numerous PBS science series, including The Secret of Life (NOVA/BBC), Scientific American Frontiers, Out of the Past, and The Ring of Truth, as well as programs for the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. She directed and wrote Super Reefs: The Future of Coral for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and has produced exhibit media for museums around the U.S., including Niagara Falls Visitor Center, Pikes Peak Visitor Center, the Tennessee State Museum, the Nebraska State Museum, the Mob Museum, and the National World War II Museum. Bonnie has an BA in Semiotics from Brown University. She is the award-winning senior producer and writer of the one-hour international broadcast documentary, Earth Emergency, and series of five short films, Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, which was launched in January 2021 with a virtual event featuring the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg and attended by over one million viewers globally. The films have been featured in more than 50 film festivals worldwide.
Michael J. Gitlin, MD is Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is currently the Director of the Adult Division in the Department of Psychiatry, Interim Director of the Geriatric Division in the Department of Psychiatry, Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Behavioral Health Services and Director of the Mood Disorders Clinic at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital. From 1980 until 2004, he was the Medical Director of the Aftercare Clinic, a research clinic in schizophrenia. He is the author of over 160 scientific articles and book chapters as well as five books, including: two editions of a solo authored psychopharmacology textbook written for nonphysician therapists entitled "The Psychotherapist's Guide to Psychopharmacology” published by the Free Press, the coauthor of “Psychotropic Drugs and Women” with Dr. Victoria Hendrick, the coauthor of “Clinician’s Guide to Bipolar Disorder: Integrating Pharmacology with Psychotherapy”, with Dr. David Miklowitz and the coauthor of “The Essential Guide to Lithium Treatment” with Dr. Michael Bauer. He served as Chief of Staff at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital from 1997-1999. Among his awards are: Distinguished Educator Award in Teaching from the UCLA Department of Psychiatry (1999), Outstanding Housestaff Teaching Award, 1994 and 2008, Teacher of the Year from the Psychiatric Times in 2002; Dadone Clinical Teaching award from the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in 2010; and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award from the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in 2010.