NAMI Honors “People Say I’m Crazy” With National Award

Posted on August 3, 2004

Arlington, VA — NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) has selected  People Say I’m Crazy, scheduled to premiere on Cinemax  on August 18, for its Outstanding Media Award for the best television documentary of  2004.

NAMI’s national media awards are given annually in recognition of outstanding works that focus on topics involving mental illness with accuracy, fairness and compassion, and contribute to broad public education. 

Sharing in this year’s honor are director John Cadigan, who lives with schizophrenia, and producers Katie Cadigan and Ira Wohl.

"People Say I’m Crazy is an extremely important and moving film," said NAMI national board president Margaret Stout.  "It will touch millions of people, welcoming them into the mind of a talented artist with a  severe mental illness and the love of a family who have stood by him."

"The film educates and entertains. It is optimistic. It starkly reveals the potential that exists in every person who confronts mental illness. It should inspire Americans to demand that our society invest in a mental health care system that supports recovery."

People Say I’m Crazy focuses on John Cadigan’s own experiences since the onset of his illness in college. It is the first major film directed by a person with schizophrenia. Producer. Katie Cadigan is his sister. In 1979, co-producer Ira Wohl won an Academy Award® for the documentary Best Boy.

Read more about the movie on the Cinemax web site.

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With more than 220,000 members and 1200 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses.