Eine Krankheit wie ein Gedicht

In the presence of director Jelena Ilić, followed by Q&A

“Drug-induced, chronic schizoaffective psychosis of the manic type, polytox type, not morphine type” – that is my father’s diagnosis.

In other words, he goes through the same cycle over and over again. Psychoses tear him away from reality; hospital stays bring him back, followed by depressive shame. During these psychoses, he is unpredictable and openly acts out his violence, even against the people around him. To me, however, he is not just a perpetrator whose actions I deeply condemn, but also a person I love and an artist I admire. He has captured the world of his psychoses in photographs, paintings, and sculptures. Our relationship also finds expression in art: in a collaborative comic book whose pages we take turns filling with drawings. He is fighting against himself, against his illness, and against a system. And I am by his side.

Winner of the Audience Award at the Max Ophüls Award & the International Women’s Film Festival Dortmund|Cologne

A deeply personal and moving work, in which Ilić finds her own cinematic language for a relationship that defies easy answers. It’s openness, clarity and remarkable thoughtfulness stayed with us after the film ended.