To say filmmaker Jen Brea has made the most of her challenging situation would be a vast understatement. Burdened with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), she produced her film
Unrest (premiering on
Independent Lens Jan. 8 at 10 pm;
check local listings) for the most part literally from her bed, yet managed to include people from all over the world who joined in her investigating what this disease is and how they can overcome it.
Based in Los Angeles, a graduate of Princeton, Brea was a PhD student at Harvard when the crippling illness came on suddenly and left her bedridden. In the aftermath, she rediscovered her first love, film.
Unrest, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is one of 15 films that has been narrowed down for consideration for an Oscar nomination, was called “a film that’s remarkably intimate, deeply edifying and a stirring call to action” in the
LA Times.
An activist for invisible disabilities and chronic illness, Brea co-founded a global advocacy network, #MEAction, and is a TED Talker. She wrote to us about her journey in making this powerful film.
It’s probably hard to even know where to begin in answering this, but what were among some of the biggest challenges you faced in making this film, and how did you overcome them?
Through much of the production of
Unrest, I was 90% bedridden, conducting interviews on Skype and directing remotely in collaboration with producers and crews around the world...
