Bedlam

Through intimate stories with patients, providers, and families, Bedlam immerses us in the national crisis surrounding the care of the seriously mentally ill. Filmed over five years, it brings us inside one of America’s busiest psychiatric emergency rooms, into jails where psychiatric patients are warehoused, and to the homes–and homeless encampments–of mentally ill members of our communities, where silence and shame often compound personal suffering. The story is told in part by director Kenneth Paul Rosenburg, MD, whose own life journey has been profoundly impacted by a seriously mentally ill family member. It addresses the national crisis and criminalization of the mentally ill, its connection to hundreds of thousands of homeless Americans, and our nation’s disastrous approach to caring for its psychiatric patients.