This dark animated short film called Caldera was directed by Evan Viera, and it follows a young girl suffering from mental illness. It explores the struggle of people that have to deal with mental illness and the effects of the medications that are used that are supposed to help them. The short was inspired by the director's father who struggled with schizoaffective disorder. Here's an explanation of the film,
Through the eyes of a young girl suffering from mental illness, CALDERA glimpses into a world of psychosis and explores a world of ambiguous reality and the nature of life and death.
CALDERA is inspired by my father's struggle with schizoaffective disorder. In states of delusion, my father has danced on the rings of Saturn, spoken with angels, and fled from his demons. He has lived both a fantastical and haunting life, but one that's invisible to the most of us. In our differing understanding of reality, we blindly mandate his medication, assimilate him to our marginalizing culture, and entirely misinterpret him for all he is worth. CALDERA aims to not only venerate my father, but all brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis.
This ended up being a great short, and I hope you enjoy it.
Caldera (2012) from Evan Viera on Vimeo.