Leaders & Followers in Times of Crisis
2021, 58 min, TEFF gives thanks to Bullfrog Films
Celebrates the life and work of Nobel Peace Prize nominee Vamik Volkan, a psychiatrist who brings enemy groups together for dialogue in traumatized areas of the globe. Blind Trust celebrates the life and work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Vamik Volkan, a five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee who has spent over four decades bringing enemy groups together in areas of conflict all over the world. This incredible film traces Dr. Volkan’s life journey from his birthplace on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus to his development of a model of diplomacy based on the emotional life of nations. This look into his pioneering fieldwork and peace- building missions in Europe, the Middle East, and the US sheds light on how large-group identity and shared trauma can both unite us and divide us for generations. The film was originally titled “Vamik’s Room”.
AAwards and Festivals
Winner, Gradiva Award, National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis Winner, Sydney Halpern Award, Clio’s Psyche Journal
Global Health Film Festival, London
Montreal Independent Film Festival
New Haven Documentary Film Festival
The North Carolina Film Festival