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"Unrest" Documentary Media Coverage

SB_1108

Senior Member
Messages
315
From their Facebook page:

We have some big news I want to share: we’re officially changing the name of "Canary in a Coal Mine" to "Unrest." Over the last three years, I’ve grown very attached to the name Canary, but it needed to change and I want to tell you why.

First, one of the defining challenges of this illness has been the horrible name, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Doctors, media, coworkers and even loved ones misinterpret us as just being tired, and often even accuse seriously ill patients of being lazy.

The truth is, patients who have been bedridden for years are not tired or lazy or ‘resting’; they are in a constant state of fighting just to be alive. Whether you are mild or severe, you know how hard it can be to push through, day in and day out. Even when we might look like we’re resting, it’s a fight. I wanted a name that represented that struggle. Unrest describes the experience of all of us who are constantly resisting both the limits of our bodies and the larger social stigmas that have held back equal access to treatment and care.

Second, one of the most exciting developments over the last year has been the rise of a global movement of patients and allies coming together to fight for health equality. The folks drawing attention to the #MillionsMissing are also engaged in a form of unrest. We are attempting to disrupt the status quo that consigns desperately sick people to the margins of medicine and society. Coming together, engaging in collective “unrest” – I wanted to capture some of that spirit in the title, too.

Finally, Unrest represents the hope we all share: that with a real investment in this disease, we can discover the root causes and develop treatments. Then maybe someday we can “un-rest” and get back to our lives.

In 2013, the midst of our Kickstarter campaign, one patient said, “It’s an uprising from our beds.” I’ve returned to that phrase again and again when thinking about how this film might do good in the world. I want people outside of our circles of ME patients, friends and family to see how we, people with so little to spare, are coming together, loving and supporting each other and challenging some of the biggest forces in society. Whether in bed, at work, or outside of government offices, we are in a state of unrest for our health and for justice.

http://unrest.film
http://twitter.com/unrestfilm
http://fb.com/unrestfilm

See the thread about it here: http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/canary-in-a-coal-mine-becomes-unrest.48100/
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
I'm starting a thread to collect in one place articles found on-line regarding Jen Brea's documentary "Unrest" -- premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.

http://www.parkrecord.com/entertainment/sundance-slamdance/unrest-documents-lives-of-me-patients/

Why do they say our illness is an autoimmune disease?: 3rd paragraph down:

"Brea, then a Harvard PhD student, thought she could fight the autoimmune disease with symptoms that include muscle pain and sensitivity to light and sound by telling herself what she had was merely “in her head.” But despite her willpower, Brea collapsed once she made it to the door."

GG
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
Why do they say our illness is an autoimmune disease?: 3rd paragraph down:

"Brea, then a Harvard PhD student, thought she could fight the autoimmune disease with symptoms that include muscle pain and sensitivity to light and sound by telling herself what she had was merely “in her head.” But despite her willpower, Brea collapsed once she made it to the door."

GG

Another laughable mistake, Lime disease. Ouch!

“I hear from women all of the time, who were later diagnosed with fibromyalgia, lime disease and lupus, who were initially told they were hypochondriacs,” Brea said in the film. “Eighty percent of autoimmune patients are women. I can’t help wonder if that’s why we’re disbelieved.”
 

mfairma

Senior Member
Messages
205
Another laughable mistake, Lime disease. Ouch!

“I hear from women all of the time, who were later diagnosed with fibromyalgia, lime disease and lupus, who were initially told they were hypochondriacs,” Brea said in the film. “Eighty percent of autoimmune patients are women. I can’t help wonder if that’s why we’re disbelieved.”
That's not a mistake. I have that. Best treatment is a home remedy, solution of salts and spirits.
 
Messages
1,478
image.jpeg
 

Cheshire

Senior Member
Messages
1,129
In variety
The most alarming case is that of Danish teen Karina Hansen, whose parents were horrified when police virtually raided their home and forcibly removed her to a state facility — because Denmark is one of the countries that categorizes CFS as a psychiatric condition, and thus considered her a “captive” who was not getting proper treatment. (Incredibly, it took three years of protest before she was released, with no improvement.) The questionable reason that government doctor Per Fink offers for tearing families apart is that viewing CFS as strictly psychological is “more interesting” to him.

Is the narrative changing at last?
Thank you so much @JenB
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Here are a couple more great links. This is so exciting!

Jennifer Brea Filmed Her Sundance Premiere Without Leaving Bed — And it Saved Her Life
http://nofilmschool.com/2017/01/unrest-jennifer-brea-interview-sundance-2017

Sundance Film Review: ‘Unrest’
http://variety.com/2017/film/markets-festivals/unrest-sundance-film-festival-1201966610/

It's terrific that this is in Variety!

The NoFilmSchool interview is fantastic - I learned all sorts of fascinating things about how Jen made the film and how she felt about it. I highly recommend it.