Sara invited me to a special screening of “Canvas,” an independent film being released in October that portrays the hardships of a person with a mental illness and how it impacts the family and community. The film is the first for writer and director Joe Greco, and deeply personal as the script was largely based on his youth. The University of Minnesota Medical school Psychiatry interest group was able to fly Joe in from California to be at a reception before the movie (on campus), then appear at the Oak Street Cinema for Q&A following the film.

The audience was mostly medical students by intent, but the general public was welcome, and attended, along with members that support the Oak Street Cinema. Several medical doctors spoke along with Joe, sharing their experiences in treating and researching mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. Joe shared more information on his background and the background of the movie. He said the movie cost just $1 million, compared with a related movie “A Beautiful Mind” that cost $100 million (and had many millions more available for advertising), but was all raised by himself over a period of 10 years! The film was shot in just three weeks in Joe’s hometown of Hollywood, Florida.

The film is essentially a must-see because it is produced and written well, the acting is done well, but primarily because it sheds light on a topic that is still stigmatized (mental illness), and gives viewers insight as to what coping with mental illness is like for the victim and the family.  Hopefully viewers are left with thoughts on how important it is to help people that suffer from mental disorders, and treat them the same as physical disorders.

Joe was a very personable guy, and we were even able to talk with him before the movie about unrelated stuff, such as his recently purchased iPhone, and how he is a huge Mac fan (geek points!). I’m a fan of Joe Pantoliano’s work, and in this movie he delivered another great performance, as did Marcia Gay Harden and Devon Gearhart. Go see Canvas when it is released this fall, then tell your friends about it.