Whisper Rapture

36 minutes, HD video, color, b/w, sound, 2018

An intimate portrait of cellist-vocalist Bonfire Madigan Shive, who transforms her experiences with hearing voices and suicidal despair into punk-influenced chamber music. Madigan’s heartfelt story of managing madness and finding wellness through music is heard over silent performance tableaus inspired by Butoh dance and Balinese shadow puppetry. Featuring six original Bonfire Madigan music compositions vividly animated by luminous images from natural and urban environments, this lyrical doc-opera radically re-frames the way we think, speak and feel about mental distress and wellness in today’s chaotic world.

Awards

• Winner, International Documentary
  FICSAM International Mental Health Film Festival, Portugal

Screenings

• American Documentary Film Festival, Palm Springs, CA
• San Francisco Documentary Film Festival
• Picture This International Disability Film Festival, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
• Mendocino Film Festival, Mendocino, CA
• Big Muddy Film Festival, Carbondale, Illinois