Evan Viera's award-winning "Caldera" is an animated short film that explores the ambiguous reality inhabited by people experiencing psychosis, through the tale of a young girl suffering from mental illness.
The story follows the girl who goes off her medication, and leaves a bleak metropolis to immerse herself in a vibrant oceanic cove. Ultimately, the story is about the young girl’s impossible predicament, where she can not live in either the fantastical and haunting world of psychosis or in the marginalizing society that mandates her medication.
Viera explains:
"CALDERA is inspired by my father's struggle with schizoaffective disorder. In states of delusion, my father has danced on the rings of Saturn, spoken with angels, and fled from his demons. He has lived both a fantastical and haunting life, but one that's invisible to the most of us. In our differing understanding of reality, we blindly mandate his medication, assimilate him to our marginalizing culture, and entirely misinterpret him for all he is worth. CALDERA aims to not only venerate my father, but all brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis."
More about this film at Orchid Animation and on Evan Viera's Facebook page.
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