ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
When newcomer Alexis joins a group therapy session and plans to write a TV series about it, the groups members are thrown into charged waters that will change them forever.
SYNOPSIS
“Every person must choose how much truth he can stand” -Irvin Yalom.
Group therapy makes you bare your soul in unpredictable ways. It is raw, comical, sexual, pugnacious. It liberates conflicts, explores connection, all within one room, all in words. Compared to individual or couples’ psychotherapy, it feels like therapy on steroids.
This film tells the story of Alexis, a filmmaker joining a group to research a TV series inspired by the novel The Schopenhauer Cure by Irving Yalom. He’s committed to a seemingly absurd goal: filming without a script, in real time, with a real psychoanalyst. It’s a prequel to the existing web-series GROUP, released on YouTube and PBS, with more than 350K views and strong responses.
This feature will make spectators experience group therapy vicariously, and be touched by it, engaging in a form of voyeurism and thriller of the psyche - a new cinematic experience.
Session 1: Alexis joins group, an irritation to Karina, Rebecca is welcoming. He’s developing a series set in group, wants to cast Doc. All are against the project. Doc reveals he had a heart attack. Karina thinks Doc has become less protective, she’s decided to leave.
Session 2: Doc announces he’s closing shop, next session will be the last. Pam reveals she had sex with Manny. The topic of boundaries becomes hot. Alexis shares news: a producer wants to buy his project but doesn’t want him to direct.
Session 3: The last meeting. Alexis says he has given up on casting Doc against the will of the group, but Pam suddenly changes her mind. A change of tide?
Epilogue: They meet (without Doc) at a café. Tilda suggests they shoot a pilot playing fictionalized versions of themselves. One by one, they warm up to the idea.
PROJECT TYPE Hybrid Narrative Feature
DIRECTOR Alexis Lloyd
SCREENWRITER Alexis Lloyd
PRODUCER Alexis Lloyd, Molly Conners
cast Thomas Sadoski, Dr. Elliot Zeisel, Cara Ronzetti, Ezra Barnes, Teresa Avia Lim, Gabriela Kohen, Elisha Lawson, Bernardo Cubria, Lucy Walters
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