Bipolar & Cheese is a fun and quirky comedy that tackles a very serious issue in an offbeat, hilarious way.
The film, which originally started as a full-length feature, was written and directed by Scarlet Perez, who wanted to raise awareness about bipolar disorder. The film was inspired by someone very close to Scarlet who suffers from bipolar disorder who later became a therapist. “That was the backbone of the story, but then I sort of embellished from there, and added cheese, humor, and light,” Scarlet explains. “I like cheese. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who doesn’t like cheese. Even people that are lactose intolerant,” she says. “So I was just like ‘I need to do something odd that’s funny,’ and it just popped into my head one day; just cheese. I was thinking more like cookies and baked goods, but then I was like ‘that doesn’t have a good ring to it, but cheese does,” she laughs.
“I wanted to do something different that’s not your typical depressing, hopeless look at what bipolar can do to you,” Scarlet explains.
The film stars Vivian Bang as Violet, a therapist, who after a psychotic break over her new coworker Brad (Alastair James Murden) is diagnosed as bipolar. Violet and Brad meet in the office, and immediately bond over their love of cheese. Later, that night, Violet emails her new crush, and then is overtaken by mania, completely losing any sense of reality. Scarlet portrays this in a humorous way whilst still drawing attention to this very serious symptom of bipolar disorder.
The next morning, Violet shows up at the office dressed in a fancy gown, ready to see her new man only to see him with another woman who turns out to be his girlfriend. Overcome with intense feelings of mania, sadness, and anger, Violet has a complete psychotic break. She is taken to the hospital where Dr. Smith (Louis B Jack) diagnoses her as bipolar.
Bipolar & Cheese is the first thing Scarlet has ever written for the screen. As mentioned previously, it initially started out as a full-length feature. Scarlet grew antsy and tired of not seeing the film go anywhere, and decided to take the “money” scene of the film, Violet’s huge breakdown in the office, and build a short film around that. She still hopes to make the feature film, which is a continuation of the story.
Bipolar & Cheese has received very impressive accolades. The original feature was a quarter-finalist at Fresh Voices. Since turning the film into a short, Scarlet has won the Platinum Award (third place) for best director and the Diamond Award (first place) for best editing (she edited the film as well) at the NYC Indie Film Awards while Vivian Bang won best actress and Felix Brenner won for best original score. The film also won the Audience Award at the California Women’s Film Festival, its first public showing on the screen. The film will screen February 20 at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival where it is also nominated for a People’s Choice Award.
