PRODUCTION UNDERWAY ON SELF-HARM DOCUMENTARY
Cut will highlight teen experience through real stories
Media Contact: Wendy Schneider, 608.239.5771 or btype35@aol.com
It's estimated that one in 100 Americans will harm themselves at some time in their lives, which amounts to almost three million people. Yet self-harm is either unknown or misunderstood, compounding the pain and despair of those afflicted.
Documentarian Wendy Schneider explores and exposes the various facets of self-harm with Cut, her first film.
Focusing on cutting, the short subject documentary will feature candid, honest interviews with teens at various stages of recovery as well as mental health professionals and counselors dedicated to helping them.
“Cut addresses an aspect of self-harm that is extremely prevalent,” says Karen Contrario of S.A.F.E. Alternatives, one of the nation's first inpatient facilities dedicated to exclusively treating self harm. “No school, library or counselor should be without this provocative and educational film.”
Cut is the continuation of a project Schneider undertook for the WisKino Film Festival in Madison, Wisconsin, which garnered strong praise.
Schneider has begun shooting on-screen interviews with teens in recovery as well as staff at S.A.F.E. Alternatives in Chicago, Filming will take place during the summer of 2006, after which Schneider and her associates will seek distribution.
Schneider is also actively seeking funding for the project, and will welcome sponsorship inquiries and opportunities. A portion of the film's proceeds will be donated for teen treatment.
About the Filmmaker
New York native Wendy Schneider started as a bike messenger for a multimedia production company at 17 years of age. Eight years later, she was creative director for audio production, working on projects for major corporate clients that included the National Geographic Society and the International Center for Photography.
In 1989, she produced her first audio documentary to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the deaths of civil rights activists Goodman, Schwener and Chaney for People for the American Way. That experience led her to eschew the corporate life and move to Madison to attend the Univeristy of Wisconsin in 1990; she has lived in Madison ever since.
Schneider is currently owner and chief engineer at Coney Island Recording Studios, working with independent record labels and bands. She is also founder of Sparkle Dog, a company formed to produce “StoryScapes,” original children's stories set to original music on CD, as well as accompanying educational materials.
Cut is her first film.
