Nise: The Heart of Madness

Nise: The Heart of Madness (Portuguese- Nise: O Coração da Loucura)  Commentary Nise da Silveira was born in Brazil in 1905. She was a lot of things – the only female student of her graduating class in medical school, a student of Carl Jung and a pioneer of occupational therapy in Psychiatry. In this film, Nise: Read More …

The last 1000 days

The last 1000 days, Molly Case Commentary As we slowly make the shift to practise realistic medicine, where “patients are at the centre of decision making”, it’s more important now to understand what’s truly important to those who are at the receiving end of medical care. The poem The last 1000 days is written in a language Read More …

The shock of the machine

Commentary Thom Green is drummer for Alt-J – and has kidney failure and a transplant, and deafness, all caused by the inherited condition Alport Syndrome, which came on in his teens. In short videos he talks about the shock of dialysis, how different living with a transplant is, and about his (deceased) kidney donor. There’s Read More …

Whistleblower: Enemy of the people

Ibsen on whistleblowing in 1882.  In this extract Dr Stockmann finds that his discovery of the health risk arising from local industry is most unwelcome. There is a confrontation with his brother, the mayor of the town. From from a New York production (Manhattan Theatre Club). Commentary Dr Stockmann is physician to the new spa Read More …

Blind life: meet the parents

Touch Life – movie from Aeon.co. Commentary A 13 minute film touching gently on anxiety about meeting a partner’s parents, being blind, screenreaders, and a guide dog. Beautifully filmed and edited with carefully framed Edinburgh scenery. Blindness is just-one-of-the-facts, and this feels a very authentic portrayal. Agata, a young, blind Polish woman, plans to travel Read More …