Unrest
directed by Jennifer Brea, USA/ UK, 2017, 98'
Jennifer Brea, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University, has always lived life to the fullest. Everything changed, however, when she fell ill with the flu one day and, despite undergoing treatment, was unable to return to her former health. When doctor after doctor mistakenly diagnosed her with a psychiatric disorder, she decided to start documenting her daily life and the painstaking process of getting information about the illness that she was actually suffering from. Unrest is an extremely intimate, honest and moving record of the life of a person suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a condition that is difficult to diagnose and treat and that, according to some estimates, may afflict some 30 million people worldwide, 85 percent of whom are women. Meanwhile, the level of knowledge about CFS is shockingly low, and research is underfunded. In extreme cases, bedridden patients are taken from their families and placed in closed psychiatric facilities.
- 2017 Sundance (Special Jury Award for Editing)
- 2017 Sheffield Doc/Fest (Illuminate Award)
