Miscellaneous Swiss documentaries about life with mental illness
With "I Love You, I Leave You" and "Semikolon", two Swiss documentaries that follow people in extreme psychological situations are being shown in cinemas almost simultaneously. The question of closeness and distance was at the heart of both directors' work.
06.11.2025, 06:31
SDA
In "I Love You, I Leave You", Moris Freiburghaus tells the story of the bipolar disorder of his best friend, the musician Dino Brandão. His work has just been awarded the Golden Eye in the documentary film competition at the Zurich Film Festival. The film also won the Audience Award. And it opens in cinemas (today) Thursday.
In "Semikolon - Schizophrenia Forever" (cinema release 17.11.), Saschko Steven Schmid accompanies Hermann into his world, which is characterized by voices and delusions and thus also by fears.
Two Swiss documentaries deal personally and intensively with mental illness. With "Bilder im Kopf" by Eleonora Camizzi, another work has just been shown in cinemas that reports on the confrontation with schizophrenia.
Different approaches
When Moris Freiburghaus' friend was admitted to a clinic for the second time in 2023 with a manic-psychotic episode, he received a message from him, the director told the Keystone-SDA news agency: "It's time for part two." Ten years earlier, the two had already made a short film about Brandão's first stay in hospital. Freiburghaus visited his friend in hospital, but it was only after another relapse that his family and Freiburghaus decided to document this acute phase on film.
Saschko Steven Schmid began his work on "Semikolon" with a list, he says. "I keep a list of ideas that are possible projects for me. The topic of schizophrenia was on the list because I worked briefly with a person affected by the condition for a TV report a few years ago. That encounter made a deep impression on me." Schmid wrote to clinics and doctors to find someone. Three or four months passed before he received a call from Hermann. "The real preparation then consists of building up a relationship of trust," says Schmid.
He was most interested in the question of what schizophrenia actually is - not only from a medical point of view, but above all how one experiences such an illness personally. And: "I am fascinated by how people deal with an illness that often remains invisible to the outside world. How do you live with something that others can't see or touch, but which has such a strong impact on your own life?" asks Schmid.
The friend at the center
For Freiburghaus, the focus was on his friend Dino and the question of his own actions as a relative. You develop a feeling for when you can film in exceptional situations and when you need to take a break. "The acute phase was a massive burden for me. At some point, I had to withdraw so as not to overwhelm myself." There was no professional distance for him in the middle of filming. "I am first and foremost a relative. I react to the situation."
Documenting a person in such a state is a borderline activity. "In a manic phase, especially in a psychotic state, a person reveals a lot about themselves. Delusions of grandeur, overconfidence and insults are also part of it. During the four years of work, he asked Dino twice a month whether he was really sure about going public with this story. "In all phases, even in the depressive ones, he always answered 'yes' convincingly."
Freiburghaus only regained his professional distance during the editing phase - which was also very time-consuming. A major part of this work was finding the right balance to do justice to the people involved. In the end, the material was cut from 240 to 90 minutes.
The camera as a protective shield
For Schmid, the camera is not just a tool, but also a kind of protective shield. "It creates a necessary distance between me and the impressions I gather during filming. Looking through the viewfinder helps me to organize and process what I experience to a certain extent, rather than being completely absorbed by it," he says.
His project also faced numerous difficulties. One of the biggest was that the entire film had to be shot anonymously - without showing the main character's face. "I was also not allowed to use the original voice, which made the realization even more complex," says the director. These restrictions challenged him both creatively and narratively. In the end, the result surprised him: "Despite - or perhaps because of - these limitations, a film was created that develops a special closeness. The anonymity has sharpened our focus on the essentials."
"The film stands for our friendship, in all its depth," says Freiburghaus. He is now looking forward to exchanging ideas with people who may have had similar experiences. "I see the movie as a discussion starter."
Schmid adds: "It would be great if people with mental illness could draw new hope from Hermann's story." As a filmmaker, he also hopes that the film will encourage people to listen more - attentively, openly and without prejudice. "Because that's exactly what unfortunately gets lost far too often in our fast-moving times. "*
*This text by Rapahel Amstutz, Keystone-SDA, was realized with the help of the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation.
