Mother & Daughters' Journey Through Madness

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Out of the Shadow to Premiere on Psychiatry 24 x 7 Website

- Award-Winning Film Offers Hope & Healing to Millions of Families
Worldwide

Out of the Shadow, Susan Smiley's award-winning documentary film,
which offers a searing and captivating portrait of her mother
Millie's lifelong struggle with schizophrenia and its shattering
impact on her family, is now available to view worldwide on the
Psychiatry 24x7 website (www.psychiatry24x7.com).

More than 450 million people worldwide suffer from a mental
illness[1]- a greater number than affected by cancer or diabetes. In
Europe alone schizophrenia is estimated to affect 6.6 million people.
Overall, this means that one in 100 people will suffer from
schizophrenia at some time in their lives[2].

"Schizophrenia affects families like mine and yours - not only the
nameless homeless person on the street," says Susan Smiley, producer,
director and writer of Out of the Shadow. "I want the film to impart
the message that schizophrenia can be effectively managed when
patients receive comprehensive psychosocial services, including safe
and stable housing, family support and open access to proper
treatment."

Out of the Shadow illustrates the complexities of severe mental
illness on individuals and their families whilst exposing some of the
inadequacies of public mental health systems. Filmed over six years,
Out of the Shadow uncovers one family's struggle, but reveals an
international plight endured by families across the world. Tens of
millions of people worldwide, and their families, are affected not
only by schizophrenia but by the stigma, barriers to treatment and
broken and fragmented mental health service delivery systems in many
countries.

Launching Out of the Shadow on Psychiatry 24x7 allows all those
affected and touched by mental illness across the globe to gain a
personal and invaluable insight into schizophrenia, and the website
further offers them a wealth of educational information. Out of the
Shadow has been aired on national television across the US and
premiered at film festivals in the US, Canada and New Zealand, it is
also available on DVD and has been translated into 6 languages. The
film has already generated thousands of heart-felt and poignant
e-mails from individuals whose families have been touched by mental
illness.

Susan Smiley's provocative and revealing new film is a powerful
and poignant story of madness and dignity, shame and love. Hers was
the picture-perfect suburban family: a beautiful mother with two
smiling young daughters. But hidden beneath the surface was a dark
and terrifying secret. Susan's mother Millie was descending into her
own world filled with paranoia, rage, strange voices and outbursts of
violence.

Out of the Shadow is an emotional journey in which film maker
Smiley explores a difficult, painful past in order to cross over to a
more hopeful future. The film weaves probing interviews, home movie
footage and family photos with recent candid footage to unravel this
complex story.

Out of the Shadow can be viewed by registering on
www.psychiatry24x7.com

References:

[1] World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe
www.who.int/mental_health/en/

[2] Rethink Website - http://www.rethink.org/about_mental_illness/
mental_illnesses_and_disorders/schizophrenia/index.html

Notes to Editor:

About Susan Smiley

An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Susan Smiley is the
producer, director and writer of Out of the Shadow. Susan has
produced and directed documentaries for Discovery Channel, History
Channel, Sci- Fi Channel, MTV and the Frontline series on PBS. In
addition to the extensive public speaking and outreach Susan is now
doing with Out of the Shadow, she is currently producing her next
film that explores the criminalisation of mentally ill youths in Los
Angeles County.

The first public screening of Out of the Shadow in the EU is
taking place in Belfast, on Wednesday 31 January at the Queens Film
Theatre. The film is being aired as part of 'Movies in Mind'- a
festival of film exploring cinema's depiction of mental illness.

For full viewing of Out of the Shadow register on
www.psychiatry24x7.com

More information and a film clip can be found at
www.outoftheshadow.com

Photos for Out of the Shadow are available online at
http://pressroom.opb.org/programs/shadow.

More information about schizophrenia is available at
www.psychiatry24x7.com.

Funding for this documentary has been provided in part by the
David C. and Lura M. Lovell Foundation, Aetna Behavioral Health,
Pfizer, Janssen L.P and Zellerbach Family Foundation.

Credits:

- Directed, produced and photographed by Susan Smiley.

- Editors: Joel Plotch, Jonathan Oppenheim.

- Co-Producer: Elizabeth Massie.

- Composers: Hector H. Perez, B. Quincy Griffin.

About Vine Street Pictures - Vine Street Pictures is a Los Angeles
based boutique production company focused on producing documentaries
about social issues in need of attention.

About Psychiatry 24x7

Out of the Shadow can be viewed by registering on
www.psychiatry24x7.com.

Psychiatry 24x7, sponsored by Janssen-Cilag, offers a unique,
personalized, round-the-clock online resource focused on psychiatry,
including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD and child psychiatry,
depression, anxiety and substance abuse, with a mix of topical news,
disease information, educational tools and interactive features aimed
to patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Psychiatry 24x7 was launched in 2000, with an average of 8000
visitors per day.

ots Originaltext: Vine Street Pictures
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information, contact: Michael Fried, +1-(510)-677-2648
(USA), Michael.media@sbcglobal.net