Director Bud Clayman documents his struggle with OCD and Asperger's Syndrome and how it derailed his plan to become a filmmaker.
Mental illness interrupted his dream of a film-making career. Thirty years later, he's directing the movie of his life. Bud Clayman is one of film's most unlikely heroes. This is a personal story with universal relevance... a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment, and Bud's quest for belonging.—Glenn Holsten
Soon after college, mental illness struck Buddy, piercing his career in Hollywood. Thirty years of treatment, medications, and life have passed. Without waiting for his symptoms to vanish, Buddy is now making the movie of his life - he is both the subject and one of the directors of OC87. This innovative, funny, and touching documentary champions a message of mental health recovery. The story contrasts Buddy's past (including Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder) with his current struggles - and successes - with Asperger's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Reclaiming his quest as a filmmaker, Bud chronicles his ups and downs, the lived experience of what he calls "the fight inside my head," and complex tensions in a loving family. Along the way, he criss-crosses the country to connect with a TV star (actor Maurice Benard of General Hospital), a psychiatrist, and a radio news anchor - each reveals a personal arc of mental illness and recovery. Behind the lens, a parallel journey unfolds as we see Buddy the Director grapple with the unpredictable challenges of making an incisive, highly personal documentary a movie that he believes will transform him, as well as those who see it. From the shadows of suffering, a portrait of imperfect courage emerges: a testament to acceptance, change, and hope.
