Exclusive Interview with the Director/Producer of the Documentary Film: "A Summer in the Cage" Ben Selkow Interview by: Luis Pedron of Fanclubx.com Website: http://www.cagethemovie.com Premieres on Sundance Channel October 22, 2007 at 9PM. Luis Pedron: For a film that spans 7 years, how much footage did you shoot and how much time did you spend editing the film? What was the process in sifting through the tapes you had?  Ben Selkow: I shot about 175 hours of footage and had about 40 hours of my subject Sam's own video diaries and materials. The combination of shooting everything myself and the emotional intensity of the material, made a lot of the images and bites stark to me. The gems were mining through all of Sam's footage over the years. He had material from 1996 to 2000, home video diaries he had been doing on his own, and of course some of the home video diaries that I had asked him to record from 2002 to 2006—much of this footage was where he was communicating with me during various mood states. Finding this footage and seeing Sam address me, even more intimately—sometimes ragefully—than our hundreds of hours together, was very unsettling personally. Of course, those tapes were gold on the filmmaking side. My editor John Mims and I started editing four years ago—nights and weekends as we both had full-time day jobs, me - producing another documentary and he - as an editor. I screened everything and transcribed much of it myself. Then I would create outlines and scripts with selects and pulls. John would work grossly from these and add much to my sketches. Then it was refinement, omission and paring away.   Luis Pedron: Personally, did you ever let go of the idea of filming a documentary about the basketballers in the cage? That idea seems to still linger in you throughout the film.  Ben Selkow: No! It was something I really did not want to give up. Basketball is still a huge personal interest to me and the uniqueness of that court holds an allure for me. I am working on a feature script with some elements and hybridization of characters from the many, many days and nights that I spent with guys from the Cage—many of whom I am still in touch with. One of the original characters from the street basketball film I started—Smush Parker—ended up having an amazing story of going from the streets to struggling to make it to the NBA to becoming the starting point guard for the L.A. Lakers starting next to Kobe Bryant would. I would have liked to stay on that ride. After Sam's manic episode in 2000, some of the trust with our characters from the Cage was compromised. Access and trust are some of the keys to a documentary. I had that with Sam and I know he felt guilty and responsible for the dissolution of the street basketball film.   Luis Pedron: You seem to be a very patient person to be able to film a topic in 7 years through thick and thin.  What kept you going in spite of all the hindrances - twists and turns with your friendship with Sam?  Ben Selkow: There were very tough times in some ways. Self-doubt, questioning, fundraising, guilt-all the normal things you go through as a filmmaker—were very powerful forces. I had another job producing another documentary so there were many periods where that took complete priority and was a positive distraction from pre-occupation. One of the strengths of the film, I think, is the longitudinal study that it is—someone pre-diagnosis and followed for six years, and that was a rationalization to keep going. I didn't have an organic ending and I didn't want to contrive anything. In the end, the film had to end when it did. In terms of perseverance, my Mom's boyfriend (and who was like my stepfather), Corby, growing up taught me about not quitting and mental toughness. It sounds funny to say now, but Corby used to make me watch Clint Eastwood / Sergio Leone westerns to toughen me up. My mom is the sweetest person in the world and we were living in a commune in upstate New York, so I probably needed a little vigilantism.

Luis Pedron: As Sam used you as a bouncing board, a friend and therapist, who did you turn to for advice and counselling and why?   Ben Selkow: I have some amazing, amazing friends who were always happy to talk about the filmmaking, the emotional burdens and challenges and be reassuring and supportive on both levels. I had several girlfriends that were quite supportive and listened to my emotional torrents (strong women!). But, again, my Mom who is a therapist could speak to me on a clinical level, as well as a Mom. We share a real fascination with these subjects. (She was a subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary L'Interdit [The Forbidden] which was about alternative treatments for schizophrenics. She was one of the therapists working in the film). Sam's Mom Sharon and sister Shelley have spent many hours on the phone and visiting here and California. I can't underestimate how much life their support has given me.   Luis Pedron: Has Sam seen this film and what was his reaction? How has his family reacted to the final edit of this film?  Ben Selkow: Sam has not seen the film to date. He said he has not been ready. Sam has been varyingly very supportive in the making of it even after we stopped filming in 2006. Understandably, he's worried about how he comes off on it, but I know a part of him really hopes it reaches people and broadens the compassion for bipolar disorder. I think he set out with me to make it because he thought he could be a model for the successful management of a mental illness. I sent the film to his sister Shelley and Mom Sharon who were so instrumental in helping me make this and incredibly supportive. Frankly, I was nervous for them to see it but both of them were touched by it and commended me on my dedication. Winning Shelley's support meant a lot to me. She was dead-set against Sam  participating in the film five years ago. She and I have become very close since.   Luis Pedron: Have you shown the outcome of this film to people in the medical field and how have they reacted to this film?   Ben Selkow: From NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to MHA (Mental Health America) to Fountain House, they have been incredibly supportive. They think the characterization and portrait of bipolar disorder is real and accurate. I have shown the film to psychologists at UNC-Chapel Hill and Yale with similar assessments. That's not to say there won't be dissent, but anything that engenders discourse, is the end goal. Many folks who know someone close that is mentally ill, who have seen the film, have been very moved and have been supportive.   Luis Pedron: Personally, have you found a resolution to all of this?  Ben Selkow: No. I worry about Sam all the time. In the end, I hope and I believe this film will be helpful in the public discourse around mental illness, but how Sam chooses to deal and react to its public exposition—the permanence as a public record—remains to be seen. Certainly, I don't have to battle with the illness like Sam and his family do, but he is in my mind everyday.

Luis Pedron: What suggestions do you have for family members and friends dealing with bipolar disorder?   Ben Selkow: I am not a professional, but in my limited experience, I would say, seek professional mental health resources, psycho-education, and group/family therapy. Get educated on the disorder. Ask questions. Get personal support because it is all-consuming, exhausting and potentially lethal disease. My website has a number of resources from books, all of the major advocacy groups, and audio clips from Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a pre-eminent clinician and author who appears in the film ( www.cagethemovie.com).  Luis Pedron: Were you ever scared of Sam and why?  Ben Selkow: I am and have been more scared for Sam. Suicide is a huge risk. I know how much he grieves for his past. The world was his oyster—Division I athlete, charming, funny, incredibly smart, dashing, incredible photographer, huge group of friends—and his future will not be all those things. And from what I have seen, the loss of his past keeps him from re-conceiving his future or feeling hopeless about it. That's the depressive side. The manic side is scary too. Really scary. Having researched how the mentally ill are treated in the criminal justice system. It's a death sentence. I don't want him to do anything while manic—remember he is 6'7" and 300 pounds—that gets him in real trouble. And by that I mean, in his initial interaction with law enforcement that might not be educated on the mentally ill (different cities have different training), never mind the prison system if something happened. We were lucky on the plane in 2002 and he has been lucky subsequently. Sam is a super gentle, loving human being. During the summer of 2006 when it was 100 degrees in New York, he hadn't slept for days, was out of money and in the middle of big psychotic manic episode was the only time I was scared of Sam. I am trepidatious to paint him as psychotic monster—he has had episodes but they are a fraction of his spectrum. And in the end, while he was angry and frustrated with me, he has never physically done anything to me. He's not a violent person but I know the torrent of emotions and frustration amidst the agitation and stress could lead to bad behavior. But between us, nothing ever happened.  Luis Pedron: How is Sam doing now?  Ben Selkow: Sam is struggling now with depression. It's a life-long battle. But I got a card from his mom for my birthday and I know he is planning to go to Los Angeles for his good friend's wedding. While seemingly small, anyone who knows someone who is dealing with major depression, getting up and getting out and being seen publicly is a great step. I hope he can build from that, change some things, re-cultivate himself and start conceiving of his future.   Luis Pedron: How are you doing now?  Ben Selkow: I'm doing well. Curious to see how A Summer in the Cage is received in film circles and, as or more importantly, by audiences—with and without a direct association with mental illness. Also coming down the stretch on another feature documentary about a domestic terrorist and neo-Nazi. Developing new projects and generally being grateful for the position I am in. I feel incredibly fortunate.

Luis Pedron: After all this experience under your belt, how do you think this film will help the world look at life with bipolar disorder?   Ben Selkow: I am hoping the world will look at life with bipolar disorder with compassion and curiosity to find out more, to sensitize themselves through education to understand further what the disease is about. Be willing to be open in heart and mind to people who are battling this disease and the families and friends that are supporting them. And it's something worth knowing. Diagnoses of children with bipolar since 1994 has jumped 40-fold (from 20,000 cases to 800,00).   Luis Pedron: What is next for Ben Selkow?  Ben Selkow: Next: from the Sundance Channel airing of A Summer in the Cage on October 22 at 9 PM to getting the film seen in regional grassroots mental health support networks and then into educational settings as a teaching tool. Looking forward to finishing the domestic terrorist documentary. I am developing a new feature documentary on post-traumatic disorder and some of the controversial medications being used in its treatment. And of course a couple of feature scripts that I hope to get cooking.   Luis Pedron: Yes, when do you turn off the camera?  Ben Selkow: I am not sure I am qualified to answer that!  Website: http://www.cagethemovie.com Premieres on Sundance Channel October 22, 2007 at 9PM.