Produced byAcademy Award® Winner Ira Wohl
and Katie Cadigan
John Cadigan
Director
Palo Alto, California
A gifted artist, John is both the director and subject of People Say I'm Crazy. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 21 while attending the Art School at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, John chose to begin documenting his life in order to both understand his illness and to help others--including his own family--gain a better understanding of schizophrenia.
John portrays both the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of schizophrenia with equal doses of honesty and thoughtfulness, determined to break down the barriers of social stigma and prejudice that are sometimes the unfortunate consequences of mental illness and especially schizophrenia.
With an uncommon strength of will and a terrific support network of family and friends, as well as a dedicated team of mental health professionals and the latest advances in medication, John has been able to lead a fulfilling life despite his illness. John's art career blossomed and his remarkable woodcuts have been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally.
Please visit John's section for more information about John's life now, and how he has coped with schizophrenia.
As the filming progressed it became easier and easier to film the darker aspects of living with my illness.
It was still difficult at times. There is a scene in the film where I get frustrated and yell at the camera and my sister because of the difficulty in revealing everything. I let the camera into every aspect of my life. For the film to work I had to be brutally honest.
I was in a unique situation where I was both director and subject. This made it easier to be more intimate because most of the time I was alone with the camera - or, I was filming one or two other people with me.
I thought of the camera as a mirror. And the camera became my constant companion that I could carry around with me everywhere.
I had the problem of how to translate my experience into film. One of the rules we had for shooting was "no pre-editing." In other words, film everything and its okay if it doesn’t work - it will be an issue for editing.
Whenever I had an idea, I did not think of how it would be received. My job as director was to film everything.
The two primary goals I always kept in mind were honesty and truth. These two ideas I carried around with me ,and I tried to live through them.
- John Cadigan
