H.I.D.
Seeking a cure to her severe depression, Faye attempts to find medication while relationship problems and a growth on her ceiling causes her to question her own sanity.
Written and Directed by Chad Allen Barton
Director's Statement
The origin of this story is extremely personal. In 2013, my sister, Amanda Holcomb, killed herself. She had undiagnosed mental-health issues, including depression and bipolar disorder. Due to the state of our healthcare system, she could never afford to see anyone about these issues, and self-medicated with alcohol. She tried to end her life twice, but ended up stopping herself both times. After one of those attempts, the police escorted her to a hospital for treatment. The hospital refused to admit her, both because she couldn’t afford insurance, and because the doctor who saw her was incompetent. That night, she successfully took her own life.
This movie is not a biographical story of the end of my sister’s life; it’s a story based on those same circumstances. Our healthcare system is inherently unfair, and rigged against the poor and the needy. Mental-health care is even worse. I thought telling this story would help me work through the aftermath of my sister’s death, but it’s honestly just made me angrier at our dysfunctional and broken system. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but it absolutely isn’t. I hear similar stories all the time—not just on the news, but in my own city and circle of friends. My hope is that this film can help start a conversation about mental-health care and healthcare in general in this country, so we can work toward building a system that makes situations like Amanda’s far less common.
