People Say I’m Crazy
an extraordinary feature-length documentary about a young artist's struggle to recover from schizophrenia. It is directed and photographed by the subject, John Cadigan, a printmaker and artist. This is the first time someone with schizophrenia has explored through the lens of his own camera the complexities of his distorted world. The film is an antidote to the romanticized and sensationalized portrayals of mental illness in Hollywood films. Cadigan is diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1991 while a senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying painting and printmaking. After three years of failing to respond to any treatment, he finds a new doctor and begins taking newly-released medications which make a difference. He chronicles his fight for sanity with a video camera and the unswerving support of his family and makes a remarkable recovery. Cadigan now lives and works as an artist in the San Francisco Bay area. "Making art is like breathing - a necessary part of my life. The more I work, the more I am healed, and the images become a deeper expression of my interior world."
PEOPLE SAY I'M CRAZY has screened extensively on the festival circuit to unanimous acclaim and has run theatrically in New York and Chicago. The movie was awarded "Best Documentary" at the Chicago International Film Festival and the Humanitarian Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Cadigan was assisted in the filmmaking process by his sister Katie Cadigan, an award-winning documentarian, and Ira Wohl, an Academy Award-winning film producer (Best Boy).