Feb 4, 2008
'Canvas' screening, starring Joe Pantoliano, will aid mental health initiatives
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Academy Award-winner Marcia Gay Harden, Emmy Award-winner Joe
Pantoliano of Wilton and writer/director Joseph Greco join Laurel House
and No Kidding, Me Too! in co-presenting a special screening of the
film Canvas at The Avon Theater on Feb. 5.
The film, which previously aired in Wilton, is inspired by Mr. Greco’s
life story. The focus is on a family coping with schizophrenia. The
theme of this critically acclaimed film — “they’re not crazy, they’re a
family” — generates a wide range of emotions, ranging from hope and
humor to heartbreak.
The co-stars will follow the film screening with a question and answer
session with the audience. The evening begins at 6:30 with a silent
auction and reception sponsored by the Italian restaurant Remo’s.
All proceeds benefit Laurel House and No Kidding, Me Too!, both nonprofits working on innovative mental health initiatives.
Following his work on the film and the loss of a close friend to
suicide, Mr. Pantoliano founded the nonprofit organization No Kidding,
Me Too!, comprised of entertainment industry members united in an
effort to fight the stigma of mental illness.
In Mr. Pantoliano’s book, Who’s Sorry Now, his mother is portrayed as
both dysfunctional and humorous. It was while filming Canvas that Mr.
Pantoliano realized she was probably suffering from bipolar disorder.
“My father would always surrender to my mother’s whim,” he said. “He
would do anything to make sure she wouldn’t go off. I do that during
the film with the character Chris (played by Devon Gearhart) in a scene
when I’ve given him permission to go to a friend’s house. The mother
character (played by Harden) starts to go off, and I tell him ‘Maybe
it’s not a good idea.’ That just broke my heart.”
“Watching the film, I discovered I was playing my father, Monk, in the movie,” he said.
The film also forced Mr. Pantoliano to examine his own battle with depression, he said.
“Most movies on mental illness either demonize, glorify or romanticize
the illness,” he said. “In reality, mental illness stigmatizes and
isolates the family. If I’m schizophrenic and acting out, my brother
doesn’t want me at his house for Christmas, and that means that my
children and my wife are excluded.”
Mr. Pantoliano said that through his celebrity outreach he wanted to
get the entertainment community to band together and become ambassadors
to end the stigma of mental illness, including post-traumatic stress
syndrome.
“When I talk about the movie, or depression, or knowing someone with a
mental illness, people say, ‘Wow, no kidding, me too.’ That’s how I
came up with the name of the nonprofit.”
Former Sopranos co-stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco have been
supportive of Mr. Pantoliano’s stigma-busting efforts. The cast and the
producer, Eileen Landis, have donated unique, personal items to the
auction, including signed scripts and memorabilia from the
award-winning HBO series.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Connecticut will also
present Mr. Pantoliano with a “Stigma buster” award at the screening.
Other sponsors of the event include L.L. Bean; Chanel; The Marriott,
Soundwaters, Crystal Rock, The Rich Forum, Noelle Spa, Lord &
Taylor, Scakolad, M Restaurant and Juliska in Stamford; Cannondale
Village Antiques, The Schoolhouse Restaurant, Bar Method, Portofino
Restaurant, Dermage, Phillips Hair Salon, and Ha’Penny in Wilton; The
Greenwich Medical & Laser Spa and Palomino Restaurant in Greenwich;
The Clambake Connection in Darien; the Eastern Soccer Academy in
Bedford Hills, N.Y.; Café Love, The School of Rock, and Tiger Lily in
Mt. Kisco, N.Y.; Westchester Boot Camp in Somers and Mt. Kisco; The
Performing Arts Center in New Canaan; and The Grill restaurant in Los
Angeles.
Laurel House, based in Stamford and serving Fairfield County, uses a
“clubhouse” approach to provide services for individuals experiencing
mental illness. Laurel House “members” are given the chance to become
productive, contributing members of the communities where they live and
work.
Tickets are $35 and may be purchased through the Avon Theatre box office, at 661-0321 or 967-3660.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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