2021 Mental Filmness Awards:
Orchestrating Change, a runaway leader in audience votes, is a perfect fit for the Stigma Breaker Award given that the very mission statement of the Me/2 Orchestra is to break the stigma surrounding mental illness. This powerful documentary paints an intimate portrait of Ronald Braunstein, a world-renowned conductor who lost his career due to a bipolar manic episode, his wife Caroline Whiddon, a musician struggling with anxiety, and their plan. Their plan is to create an orchestra where they can celebrate their love of music in a stigma-free zone. Thus was born Me/2, the first orchestra for people living with mental illness.Soon the orchestra becomes a much larger force than the couple had envisioned, and they find themselves performing in venues from subways to concert halls. Ronald also finds himself playing the role of mentor to young musicians struggling with their mental health. Orchestra members heal and change their lives by bonding with others through both music and mental illness. Co-directors Margie Friedman and Barbara Multer-Wellin trail some of the orchestra’s most well-known long-term members and collect personal stories of struggles from a colorful cast of characters that are all too relatable. The filmmakers strike a delicate balance, not shying away from some of the uglier episodes of mental illness but also portraying characters who have experienced troubling incidents as gentle, resilient, and talented individuals. Through its depiction of so many interesting and creative people living with mental illness, struggling at times but conquering setbacks and finding success, Orchestrating Change humanizes a misunderstood topic and breaks stigma beautifully.