SUNNY INTERVALS AND SHOWERS

Dr Allan Levi was recently diagnosed with manic depression and suspended from his job as a University Professor as a result. Filmed over a year with Allan, his wife Jackie, and their three children, the film is an intimate and surprisingly funny portrai

Events unfold on-screen as Allan leaves his stable career to start a business selling model airplanes throughout England. Jackie, a doctor who met Allan in medical school, struggles to come to terms with the unexpected role of being a ‘carer’ for a mentally ill husband. But is Allan’s increasingly frenetic lifestyle evidence of illness, eccentricity, or simply hard work?
Michael Rabiger, author of Directing the Documentary, refers to Sunny Intervals as “a profound contribution…that portrays the mess of family life better than any film I can remember.” Through watching, we come to understand the often dramatic reality family life with manic depression – and the surprising consequences of being labelled mentally ill.

Also see: INSANELY DANGEROUS

Release year:

2005

Director:

Jonathan Goodman Levitt

Running length:

60 minutes

Production company:

VBB Productions

Prizes:

Nominated in 2007 for the prestigious Grierson Award

Nominated in 2007 for The Mental Health Media Awards at BAFTA

 

Categories:

• People & Culture