Shock Head Soul sm

Shock Head Soul

Year 2011
Runtime 86 mins
Language English
Canadian Premiere

A fascinating and unsettling look at the mental health practices of the early twentieth century, Simon Pummell's experimental doc Shock Head Soul examines the case of Daniel Paul Schreber, a respected German lawyer who in 1893 began receiving messages from God. Communicated via a divine “Writing Down Machine,” these messages told Schreber that he was turning into a woman, and that only his complete submission to God's gender-reassignment plan could save the world. Institutionalized for nearly a decade, Schreber spent his time writing Memoirs of My Nervous Illness, a classic of outsider art and an invaluable insight into the effects of schizophrenia.

Featuring re-enactments, trippy CG animation and interviews with psychologists in snazzy period costume, Shock Head Soul is a tremendously engaging journey into the history of mental illness.

Countries

Netherlands
Festivals
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012,
Venice Film Festival 2011,
Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2012
Director
Simon Pummell
Executive Producer
Keith Griffiths
Producer
Janine Marmot, Femke Wolting, Bruno Felix
Screenwriter
Simon Pummell
Cinematographer
Reinier van Brummelen
Editor
Tim Roza
Production Design
Rosie Stapel
Music
Roger Goula Sarda
Cast
Hugo Koolschijn, Anniek Pheifer, Thom Hoffman