Call us sentimental but every year at this time when we’re heading up our local trail and see that, seemingly overnight, dog owners have decorated a wild tree with photographs of their dearly departed pets…well, we tear up.
Too sweet, really, and a clear statement about how dogs have become family members for so many people in our urbanized, sometimes alienated society.
So we put up posters asking the midnight decorating crew to do the deed in daylight hours when we could film for our upcoming documentary Dog Dazed.
Among the folks who came to hang a decoration in honour of their dearly departed pets, 80-year-old Anne who hasn’t actually owned a dog for years but still walks the trail most days with a pocketful of treats for her doggie pals. She makes everybody’s day a little brighter, especially the furry folk!
I am thrilled with the outpouring of positive responses to the documentary and to the radio interview about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) with Anna Maria Tremonti on The Current the morning When the Devil Knocksran on The Passionate Eye.
I’ve heard from therapists who work with DID clients, spouses and partners seeking information for their loved ones who suffer with DID and are having trouble finding adequate treatment, from former clients, and from friends and strangers alike who have offered their congratulations.
I told Helen Slinger the night of the premiere in Vancouver that she had been successful in creating a most important film that would certainly achieve what Hilary and I wanted – to educate both the public and the therapeutic community about Dissociative Identity Disorder and its treatment.
Hilary was adamant that professionals needed to be educated as to the legitimacy of the DID diagnosis, so that she and others who suffered like her would no longer be dismissed by the psychiatric community as imagining their condition or as malingering, or told as she once was by a psychiatrist to “get over it – it’s water under the bridge.” She also wanted the public to be informed – to know that DID was not a myth, and also that it was nothing to be afraid of.
Especially though, Hilary wanted to give a message of hope to others who have suffered extreme and repeated abuse in childhood, that they can be helped, and that if they persist in their treatment with a professional who has expertise, that they, too, can recover and be well and strong and whole.
I know that, like me, Hilary would have been thrilled with the positive responses to her film. I am so sad that she isn’t here with us to share the success of this project, which is also a celebration of her courage and determination. I’m sad for her foreshortened life, and for the loss of her wonderful spirit in our world. And I agree with the psychologist from Saskatoon who said to her DID clients after hearing the radio interview, “We have a hero!” It appears now that it is not only Hilary’s dear friends who see her as Superstar. - Cheryl Malmo, February 2011
When the Devil Knocks is available for online viewing now at The Passionate Eye website. Please contact us if you would like to purchase the DVD.
When I wrote Hilary’s family to let them know that Hilary’s story will be on The Passionate Eye tomorrow, daughter Jenny (who’s featured in the documentary) wrote me back such a moving email that I asked her if I could share it:
“I am making up posters to put up around town telling people when it is showing!
… it is hard to miss her so much just when I finally had her, not only the really cool person to know, but the mother I’d always yearned for – but it is more our loss than hers… she had become well and happy, seen her life’s work completed, and was in the place she loved best, with the person she loved most, apparently even listening to their favourite song. She was given a really hard life, and she kicked its butt! I miss the heck out of her, but I am happy for her too.” – Jenny
Jenny, we’ll do our best to get Hilary’s story as far out into the world as we can. – Helen Slinger
When the Devil Knocks – Wednesday January 26 at 10 pm ET and PT on CBC News Network’s The Passionate Eye.
The Vancouver International Film Festival in October 2010 was an absolute high for Hilary from beginning to end. I thought she might be nervous given that, when we first met, she was very afraid that people seeing her story would think she was crazy. But she wasn’t scared at all – she was happy and excited and ready to take on the world.
We sat beside each other during the premiere screening and, okay, during the first few minutes we were both a tiny bit anxious about whether the audience would engage. But any apprehension dissolved as we realized the theatre was absolutely silent, except for laughter at appropriate times. People were fully engaged with Hilary’s amazing journey.
When the film ended, there was a huge spontaneous standing ovation and I could barely get Hilary to the front of the theatre – she was so overwhelmed with emotion. Not only did people believe her story, they loved her, and wanted to show it.
I’m so sorry Hilary’s not with us to watch her story on The Passionate Eye January 26, but I’m sure glad she had a chance to experience how people react to it, and to her. Here’s what she wrote to me when she got home from Vancouver: “I’m still on a buzz from last week and everyone here has seen something about it on TV or paper. I haven’t. If you hear anything will you let me know. I can’t wait until our next adventure together!!!!! There will be one won’t there?? Love, Hilary”
-Helen Slinger
When the Devil knocks airs Wednesday, January 26 at 10pm ET and PT on CBC News Network’s The Passionate Eye.
One of my favourite memories from making When the Devil Knocks is really a series of memories about how to make Hilary’s “alters” (other personalities) come alive.
I was there when Hilary sat down with her therapist, Cheryl Malmo, to watch some of the videotape as different personalities emerged during therapy. Hilary found it really difficult, and somewhat freaky, that the alters all looked like the middle-aged woman she physically was. This was NOT how they appeared in her mind’s eye.
For example, Tim – probably her favourite alter – was a rambunctious 12-year-old boy. He was even left-handed. Oh, and Tim didn’t need eyeglasses but Hilary did in “real” life. Tim behaved very differently from Hilary but he still looked like her – and that just didn’t sit right with Hilary.
So while I was cogitating about how to visualize her story, I asked Hilary how she’d feel about helping me cast actors to play some of her key alters for some very abstract reenactments. This was early on, when she was still feeling a little afraid of the filmmaking process – understandably! But when I asked for help with the casting, she absolutely lit up.
By the time we got to the casting sessions, some months later, Hilary was anxious about whether she knew how. With Cheryl by her side, though, it was better than a breeze – it was a wonderful breath of fresh air for all of us. Hilary had such a click when the right person walked in the room. We rapidly realized that it was all about the energy. We were auditioning for another character when “Tim” walked in the room and Hilary knew instantly. In fact, she was somewhat reluctant to let him go!
It was the same when we were filming the reenactment scenes with the alters. Hilary liked to be around for those shoots because she realized that, now that she was whole, she missed having the alters exist separate from her.
If that thought makes your mind fry, it was even a little much to take in for Hilary. When we were filming the kite-flying scene with Tim, Hilary said to me, “I wanted people to see him as he was all along, and now they can. I feel like saying ‘I told you so, it wasn’t imagination, it was real and this proves it.’ But of course, that’s ridiculous.”
That’s how real the alters were to Hilary. Even as a whole, integrated person, she remembered them as if they were a real family of children that she had known and nurtured.
Getting ready for the When the Devil Knocks broadcast premiere 26 January, I’ve been thinking a lot about Hilary, and missing her.
When we first met four or so years ago, she was very fragile. I remember sitting in her little living room, with Hilary and her beloved partner Debbie, and having Hilary ask me if I thought she was crazy. I told her that I didn’t think she was crazy but she sure was a lot braver than me – to consider letting the world see videotape of her psychotherapy.
I actually like to occasionally remind myself of how scared and timid Hilary was because it reminds me of how very brave she was; and of how far she came in the few sweet years that I had the privilege of knowing her. In a small way, our journey together, making the documentary, mirrored Hilary’s much greater journey to become a whole person. I saw her – on the therapy tapes AND in our real life interactions – grow from a terrified child in a woman’s body into the whole, powerful, hilarious, triumphant person that was Hilary Stanton in the last woefully short years of her life.
By the time we showed the rough cut of the documentary to Hilary, prior to its film festival premiere, I was the one who was scared. Not afraid that she wouldn’t “like” the film but worried that it would hurt her to re-experience some of the painful parts of her life. She did wince a couple of times but at the end she stood up, gave me a big hug and said, “Thank you. I’m so proud to be the face of DID.”
Through her courage, Hilary has given the world a gift of understanding about this fascinating but controversial disorder. And I’m powerfully glad that, before she left us, Hilary saw that her work was done. Thinking of her often brings to mind one of my favourite quotes, from Amelia Earhart: “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.”
First of all, a big thank you to all of you who took the time to respond after our film Cat Crazed aired last week on the CBC. Most of you were quite complimentary. To those who took offence, I’d like to respond briefly.
Because I disagree with you doesn’t make me a cat hater. In fact, we made the film because we want more cats to live and live better lives. After doing much research I concluded, based upon all the evidence, that cats lived better, longer lives spayed and neutered and indoors. Yes, cats love to hunt. And so do dogs. But we domesticated both animals and have responsibility for their welfare and the damage they do to other species. As a society, we no longer tolerate packs of wild roaming dogs (except in remote areas and even then we do our best to control them) and we can’t afford to allow cats to roam either. Partly to protect birds, but also, for the cats!
My position on feral cat colonies and trap/neuter/return: to be tolerated and an interim solution at best. Mostly because I too oppose mass euthanasia. Sure as hell wouldn’t sleep nights if I was the one who had to pull the plug on dozens of cats every day. But it’s time for some serious science on TNR. We need studies done by biologists and population ecologists to see whether TNR truly reduces the size of colonies over time. Not vets. Vets aren’t trained to do this work. And when feral cat colonies are situated near wildlife sanctuaries and endangered bird populations, the cats must be moved. And as for the enthusiastic politicking by trap/neuter/return advocates urging municipalities coast to coast to put cash into supporting their work – let’s make that decision based on science, not sentimentality. The very best thing municipalities can do right now for cats, is insist upon licensing them. And work with cat groups to ensure ferals aren’t vulnerable to euthanasia as a result.
I’m a dog person. I’m also a cat person. And a bird person. But mostly I’m a person that thinks about the interconnectedness of all things on the planet. We’re all in mighty big trouble. Many solutions to serious environmental problems involve tens of billions of dollars and decades of intergovernmental panel discussions. Yet some solutions are within our reach. If you could drop 10 bucks on a license, spay and neuter your cat, keep it indoors and ultimately save the lives of millions of cats, why can’t we just do it? - Maureen
A month after a truly triumphant appearance at the Vancouver Film Festival in October 2010, Hilary Stanton died in a car accident in Mexico.
Director Helen Slinger, and the crew of Bountiful Films, came to care deeply for Hilary during the production of When the Devil Knocks. We are honoured to have known her and feel privileged to have been entrusted with the telling of her remarkable story.
As she went through so much to get healthy and whole, it seems desperately unfair that Hilary didn’t have more time. But there’s comfort in knowing that she was finally truly happy and at peace and, for us at Bountiful, there’s comfort, too, in remembering how much pleasure Hilary found in the making of the documentary. As the credits rolled at the premiere screening in Vancouver, she glowed in the warmth of an absolutely thunderous standing ovation.
We mourn the passing of this powerful, irrepressible, wonderful woman. Hilary was very brave to lay open her life in the way that she did and she was proud of the resulting film, now her legacy.
Did an interview with Radio Canada International about Cat Crazed – RCI is the CBC’s shortwave international service.
Host began by asking me whether I was a cat or bird person – he couldn’t tell from the film! I took that as a compliment because trying very hard to advance the conversation about the needs of both cats and birds, not attacking either, and asking humans ultimately to take responsibility for our own behavior when it comes to welfare of all animals.
But we humans can be especially passionate about our kitties – and so it is with considerable trepidation that some cat folks await the airing of this doc, convinced I’m going to come down hard on our feline friends. Evidence of this in a National Post column thread. All I can say is: watch the film, then decide.
If you want to know more about either perspective, I’ll point you to a few websites.
And if you’d like more info on the no kill movement, check out No Kill Nation.
Here’s what Larry Evans of PetLynx pet recovery had to say:
“We had the privilege of reviewing this film…and feel that it will be very valuable in terms of bringing various cat conversations together in 2011. We are thrilled this documentary premiers at the same time the industry launches the Care for Cats public education campaign. We invite you to watch this film and become involved in the conversations to improve the lives of our feline friends.”
Let’s talk more about this after you’ve all had a chance to watch the film, tomorrow night (Thurs Jan 6) 9pm – Cat Crazed on CBC’s Doc Zone
The Globe and Mail‘s television columnist, John Doyle, stopped by last week for a chat about our work – and the state of Canadian documentary filmmaking.
We totally get the need for broadcasters to reach an audience, but as documentary strands disappear – and the more eccentric strands have disappeared entirely – there’s a narrowing of the bandwidth on the kind of stories that will ultimately be told and will reach a wider audience.
You can read the full Globe and Mail article here.
Helen and I both have been to Bountiful, she for filming on Leaving Bountiful, me for shooting Polygamy’s Lost Boys, so we’re both keenly following the BC government’s court case. Does polygamy violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Glad I don’t have to be the one to answer that question.
Polygamy in itself may actually be the choice of well informed, educated women. But the girls of Bountiful are not well informed, or well educated. The concept of choice that you and I enjoy, is an anathema to them.
From my trip to Bountiful: I’m in the home of a former Bountiful resident, known as a “Lost Boy.” That’s the term used to refer to a whole group of disenfranchised young men who have left Bountiful largely because they had no access to power, education, well-paying jobs, or wives. Stands to reason if one substantially older man has several wives, younger men have none.
We’re talking in the kitchen and a young cousin comes to visit. I’d put her age 15, maybe 16. She is a wraith of girl, frail wrists, tiny shoulders yet an incongruously huge stomach. She’s got to be 8 months pregnant. She’s one of several wives of a Bountiful elder. And she’s clearly not happy about the impending birth. In fact, she looks completely devoid of life. Her eyes are dead.
Her future should be ripe with choices. Yet she has none. Polygamy is inextricably intertwined in that lack of choice. Yet the boys and girls of Bountiful were raised in this belief system and we have to move carefully to bring them into the outside world. Even devoid of life, that young woman won’t necessarily think she’s being abused.
I’m glad the BC government is pushing this court case, even if it ultimately fails. Because the pressure to stop the blatant violation of young girls’ rights in Bountiful must continue. I was offended by what I saw in that kitchen. Anyone who shares my wealth of choice, should be too.
…. Maureen
You can watch the trailers for our documentaries on Bountiful, and purchase them online by clicking on the images below.
We’re honoured (and excited!) that Alexandra’s Echowill be included in the Wild & Scenic Film Festival.
It’s the largest environmental film festival in the U.S., and is known for being an inspirational, eye-opening and entertaining event. Some even call it the next Sundance. Here’s how organizers describe it:
“We show environmental and adventure films that illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the challenges facing our planet, and the work communities are doing to protect the environment. Through these films, Wild & Scenic both informs people about the state of the world and inspires them to take action.”
The festival runs from January 14-16, 2011 in Nevada City, California. For more information on the documentary, click here. And check out the Wild & Scenic Film Festival’s web site.
Bountiful Films’ Helen Slinger has been named one of ‘British Columbia’s 100 most influential women’ by the Vancouver Sun. Helen was recognized in the Arts and Culture category.
Helen’s “filmmaking is all about taking a grabber of an event and turning it on its head,” according to the Sun‘s Daphne Bramham, about digging deeper and ‘looking for real meaning beneath surface shock.”
We’ll second that! Look no further than Helen’s most recent film, the shockingly intimate When the Devil Knocks.
British Columbians care passionately about their wild salmon – the proof was in the downpour.
Despite unrelenting rain, the Paddle for Wild Salmon flotilla grew to about 100 by the time it completed its run down the Fraser River on October 25th. And there on the beach to greet the paddlers were about 400 more, drumming and singing. It was quite the welcome for Alexandra Morton.
Alexandra was on her way to the Cohen Commission inquiry into what’s behind BC’s declining wild sockeye salmon stocks (this year’s run notwithstanding). She thinks the Atlantic salmon farms have at least something to do with it, and so she’ll ask the inquiry to make fish farms release all their disease stats for the last 18 years.
We have been following Alexandra since our documentary ‘Alexandra’s Echo’, and so we joined the escort party of 500 – up from the beach, across the Burrard St. Bridge and through the wet downtown streets. The walk may have left Helen’s feet marinating in swampy sneakers, but the spirits of the crowd weren’t dampened. Instead, they were bolstered all along the route, as people in cars honked their horns in support.
Photos by Steve Rendall
The hearings are on now, and you can follow the story through the links below:
‘Alexandra’s Echo’ won the award for Best Environmental Film at San Francisco’s 2010 Ocean Film Festival. You can view the trailer and purchase the film here.
“As a culture we never outgrow the joys of puppies. There is no break in our obsession.”
For those of you who think felines are the cat’s pyjamas (or want to understand those who do) here’s an article from the New York Times to tide you over until Cat Crazed airs.
When the Devil Knocks, our film about DID, is built around 40 hours of videotapes recorded during our main character’s psychotherapy sessions. As filmmakers, that access into a character’s absolutely most intimate secrets was the absolute gold that we knew we had to mine. The challenge was to create a device that could take the audience even further, through the little therapy room, into the world inside Hilary’s mind, the multiple reality that she lived. Hilary had expressed finding it absolutely freaky that her alters (i.e. different personalities) all looked like her. That’s simply not the way she experienced life as a “multiple”. So, with some trepidation, we decided to cast actors as Hilary’s key alters…only we asked Hilary to choose the right people. We figured that way we’d get it as right as we could, plus we’d get to see Hilary coming face to face with her “selves”. You can see a little of what happened in the video below.
Buy tickets to When the Devil Knocks at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
It’s official! Our film, When the Devil Knocks, will premiere October 13th at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival and we’re absolutely thrilled.
When the Devil Knocks is the story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. Protagonist Hilary Stanton gave us unlimited access to videotapes of her psychotherapy, filmed over 10 years. The result is an extremely intimate documentary that takes the audience inside what’s undoubtedly one of THE most fascinating mental disorders.
Being “multiple” is very hot in the dramatic TV world right now, with the popularity of the “United States of Tara” on HBO – and Global unveiling “Shattered,” with Callum Keith Rennie, as a cornerstone of its fall line-up. But only documentary can reveal the true nature of this baffling illness. Check out the website for When the Devil Knocks.
Spent a week filming in L.A., which I’d consider “Ground Zero” in the cat-bird wars. Many memorable images spring to mind but can’t get Fix Nation out of my head. Fix Nation is L.A.’s only free spay and neuter clinic for stray, homeless and feral cats. The sun was barely up when we arrived – and already there was a line up of bleary-eyed women waiting for the doors to open. They’d been up all night trapping feral cats. And when the doors opened, what a sight it was to behold! Fix Nation operates as a veritable cat-fixing-factory. The dedicated staff process about 70 cats a day with stunning humanity and efficiency.
Upon first glance this assembly line of anesthetized cats strikes one as oddly humorous. But closer examination tells you there’s nothing funny here. Most of these cats are covered in war wounds. Scars, open sores, weeping eyes, bad cases of mange abound. Life is short and hard for a feral cat. Ask anyone who works in animal welfare in the L.A. area, the very best thing to be done for feral cats is reduce their numbers.
Since inception Fix Nation has spayed and neutered 41,160 cats! Annual budget: $1 million. Cost to the state of California to care for and ultimately euthanize 1 million abandoned animals: $250 million.
The broadcast version of the award winning (and Gemini Award nominated) documentary, When the Devil Knocks, airs Tuesday Feb 7 at 9pm on Knowledge Network in British Columbia. (And again on Wednesday Feb 8 at Midnight). If you’re in BC, tune in! For more information on the documentary, check out the website at www.whenthedevilknocks.com
Gemini Award Nomination
We are thrilled Hilary Stanton’s courageous battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder has been recognized in a Gemini Award nomination for When the Devil Knocks. Hilary gave the viewer amazing access to her life and her mind in this film, and she did it with honesty and humour. She was so happy to experience the positive audience reaction to the film at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and we know she would have been very proud of the industry’s acknowledgement of the film as well.
ONLINE STORE
Our films are available for sale at this site for home use. For educational or institutional orders, please see the individual film for the purchase link.
When I wrote Hilary’s family to let them know that Hilary’s story will be on The Passionate Eye tomorrow, daughter Jenny (who’s featured in the documentary) wrote me back such a moving email that I asked her if I could share it:
