Ryan ChartrandTaking care of someone with a mental illness can be a challenge, and coping can be even more difficult when that person is a family member.
A new documentary created by local filmmakers called “The Shaken Tree” is a collection of stories from 14 families and three professionals in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties who have family members living with chronic or persistent mental illness.
The 30-minute film is a production of the local company Illumination Films. Director Mary Garcia-Lemus, a lecturer in psychology and child development at Cal Poly, said the film gives a voice to families.
“The families were amazingly courageous to go against a social stigma and to speak about it,” Garcia-Lemus said.
“These families are so normal. It’s not something wrong with the family; it’s that someone in that family got sick.”
One featured story is that of Marie Hughes, a Cal Poly psychology student whose mother and sister were both diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Hughes was 11 when her mother attempted suicide for the second time by overdosing on medications.
Other families discuss their experiences with a variety of issues, including family members who have dealt with schizophrenia, homelessness, and some that have committed suicide.
“The journey has been similar if not the same for many of the families,” Garcia-Lemus said.
“The outcomes for the family member with the illness varied but we have seen the same story for the families.”
Inspiration for “The Shaken Tree” came from Janice Holmes, lead family advocate at local nonprofit agency Transitions-Mental Health Association. She has worked with all the families involved in the documentary.
Producer Jose Mejia Lemus said that the project is important because families need to stay healthy and have resources in order to help their loved ones.
“We want to reduce and eventually eliminate the stigma of mental illness,” Lemus said.
“Just because someone has a mental illness doesn’t mean they are a bad person. We’re trying to cause people to talk about it.”
Local sponsors include the San Luis Obispo County Department of Behavioral Health, The Family Advocacy Program and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast.
Production of the film began in June and a private screening was held Oct. 3 at the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors Chambers.
Neil Travis, the Academy Award-winning film editor for “Dances With Wolves,” gave direction early in the editing process.
The film is unique in that it does not include a narrator or statistics about mental illness.
“The families walk you through the journey,” Garcia-Lemus said. “This is a film that educates, not an educational film.”
The group at Illumination Films is working to develop a musical score for the documentary and then plans to release the film for public viewing.
“We want the documentary to make a nationwide impact,” Garcia-Lemus said.
“Not every county has a family advocacy program. That’s a critical component and we want to bring awareness that programs are needed,” Garcia-Lemus said.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has expressed interest in using the film, and universities could also use it in their psychology departments.
Garcia-Lemus, producer Jose Mejia Lemus and editor Viviana Leija-Sysak plan to submit the documentary to the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.
Last year the group submitted a documentary on homelessness called “Suckerfish” to the festival. The film was an official selection.