Filmed over 18 months inside the Brockville Mental Health Centre
May 13, 2014 - Toronto - National Film Board of Canada
Winner of the Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award at the 2014 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, four-time Emmy-winning director John Kastner's latest National Film Board of Canada (NFB) co-produced documentary Out of Mind, Out of Sight will be shown at a free community screening on Thursday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Brockville Arts Centre. Kastner, along with Dr. John Bradford and Dr. A.G. Ahmed of the Brockville Mental Health Centre, will take part in a panel discussion following the screening.
The result of 18 months of documentary filming inside the Brockville Mental Health Centre, Out of Mind, Out of Sight focuses on two men and two women struggling to gain control over their lives so they can return to society. Michael, in a psychotic state, killed a much-loved family member and is now tormented by a guilt so great it is almost crippling. Carole and Sal are two patients battling auditory hallucinations―voices telling them to do bad things―who, incredibly, find romance with one another. Justine is a friend of the doomed Ashley Smith, who shares with her a very similar condition―and begins to travel down Smith's lonely road of extreme and self-destructive behaviour, to the consternation of staff.
Out of Mind, Out of Sight is the second film by Kastner shot in Brockville, following his 2013 documentary, NCR: Not Criminally Responsible, about an Ontario man released by the Brockville Mental Health Centre back into society after a violent psychotic episode in which he attacked a woman in a crowded shopping mall―and eight years of treatment. NCR continues to have an enormous impact as Canada considers major changes to how it deals with people declared not criminally responsible (or “NCR”) for violent crimes, due to mental illness. It's received glowing praise from Canadian mental health and law professionals, while critics have hailed it as “a breakthrough film… stunning” (Martin Knelman, Toronto Star) and said that “the importance and greatness of NCR: Not Criminally Responsible cannot be overstated” (John Doyle, Globe and Mail).
Out of Mind, Out of Sight is produced, directed and written by John Kastner. The film's producers are Deborah Parks, with Silva Basmajian as producer and executive producer for the NFB. The film is produced by J.S. Kastner Productions and the NFB, and was commissioned by TVO.
Quick Facts
• TVO aired the world broadcast premiere of Out of Mind, Out of Sight on May 7.
• John Kastner has won four documentary Emmys—more than any other individual in Canadian television. He received International Emmys for his films Life with Murder, Fighting Back and Four Women, as well as a News & Documentary Emmy Award for The Lifer and the Lady.
• In 2007, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television honoured Kastner with its lifetime Achievement Award. Kastner was also honoured at Hot Docs in 2012 with a Focus On retrospective.
• Out of Mind, Out of Sight is Kastner's third co-production with the NFB, following NCR: Not Criminally Responsible (2013) and Life with Murder (2011), which received the Donald Brittain Award for best social/political documentary at the Gemini Awards.
Promotionnal Material :
For downloadable hi-res images, go to onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/press-room/photo-gallery/.
Associated Links
• Out of Mind, Out of Sight on TVO's Doc Studio site: http://docstudio.tvo.org/story/out-mind-out-sight
• Film page and trailer at NFB.ca:
https://www.nfb.ca/film/out_of_mind_out_of_sight/trailer/out_of_mind_out_of_sight_trailer
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About the NFB
Beginning May 2, 2014, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) marks 75 years of innovation and leadership in social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, and most recently, groundbreaking interactive works. The NFB has produced over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 8 Webbys, 9 Canadian Screen Awards, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
