Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness is a two-part, four-hour documentary that explores America's youth mental health crisis through the eyes of more than twenty young people, who speak about their lived experience with mental health challenges —from depression to addiction to suicide ideation.
They also describe the stresses of stigma, social media, pandemics, and racial violence. Their words, along with those of family and friends, make their experiences more relatable for all of us and show how seriously these illnesses interfere with everyday life.
The film also acknowledges the difficulty of finding effective treatment and addresses issues such as the criminalization of mental illness and youth suicide.
While the interviewees talk with unstinting honesty about their darkest hours, the film has an underlying message of hope, not only in the words of psychiatrists, counselors, therapists, and advocates—but also in the courage and resilience of the young people themselves.
Producer: Julie Coffman
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
Production Company: Florentine Films; Ewers Brothers Productions
Production Year: 2022
Copyright Year: 2022
Rating: TV-MA
Director: Erik Ewers, Christopher Loren Ewers
Narrator: Peter Coyote
Actors: Annelise Lawson, Arielle Goldman, Tate Donovan, Jewel, Samia Mounts
Writers: David Blistein
Number of Discs: 2
Length: 240 minutes
Number of Episodes: 2
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: Spanish (SDH);English (SDH)
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen