'Orchestrating Change' To Be Screened, Free In Belmont

BELMONT, MA —“Orchestrating Change,” a new documentary film about the first music organization for people living with mental illnesses and people who support them – will be screened for free in Belmont this fall as part of a Boston area tour.

The screening aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and is followed by discussions with the filmmakers, orchestra representatives and players, and behavioral health experts.

The film and its panel of guests will visit Belmont on Oct. 17.

“Orchestrating Change” follows the triumphs and challenges of the orchestra created in 2011 by Music Director Ronald Braunstein, whose rising career as a world-class conductor was sidelined when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Along with his wife, Me2/ Executive Director Caroline Whiddon, Braunstein created the organization with outposts in Boston and Burlington, Vermont building a stigma-free zone for musicians like him. The film highlights stories of orchestra members whose lives have unexpected turns, but for whom Me2/ serves as an alternate family, a support group, and a reliable positive force in their lives.

Braunstein’s dream to bring Boston and Burlington performers together for a combined concert at Burlington’s Flynn Theater is a key narrative arc in the film. If rehearsals and logistics can be worked out, the two ensembles will play together for the first time and the concert will unfold on the same stage where Braunstein conducted his last professional concert before being diagnosed and drummed out of the industry.

“The Me2/Orchestra itself erases stereotypes of people with mental illness diagnoses,” said co-director Margie Friedman. “These screenings will both raise awareness about stigmatization and highlight the fulfilling creative lives that people with behavioral disorders have.”

Co-director Barbara Multer-Wellin said “mental illness cannot be something we talk about only when something horrific happens. ‘Orchestrating Change’ has captivating stories and beautiful music, but it also shows everyday people who live successfully with their diagnoses.”

Braunstein, who has been public about his condition for years now, describes the process of filming a crucial point in his life–and the life of the orchestra–as freeing.

"It’s been the greatest experience to hear peoples’ responses to the film, and the poignant questions they ask about me and the orchestra," he said.

Whiddon hopes the film reaches broader audiences and leaves them with a more positive idea about what it means to live with mental illness.

“One woman in a test screening came up to us and said if her son had known a group like Me2/ existed, he might have lived," she said. "There aren’t enough positive stories of people living with serious mental illness.”

The free public screening in Belmont is Oct 17 at McLean Hospital's Pierce Hall. It's followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, Music Director Ronald Braunstein, Me2/ Executive Director Caroline Whiddon, and members of the orchestra.