Out of Sync” is a collaborative film produced by Kaira, Elli Mayhem, and Gina Alonzi, with a voluntary crew from all over the world!
Beginnings
Lynn Sterner, whose son suffers from non-24, wanted to create some sort of video to help educate people on the circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSDs), so she put a feeler out to the Yahoo CRSD email group.
Kaira, with experience producing award-winning short films, jumped in and then added producers Gina and Elli, who also have worked on films. Elli also teaches animation and editing at the college level.
The Film
This movie is an educational documentary about the Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders (CRSDs) which aims to explore both the stigma surrounding those who must sleep differently and how these people have adapted in their everyday lives.
Our film will incorporate various media (e.g., video interviews, artwork, poetry) from people all over the world who have CRSDs– in fact, most of our crew also live with CRSDs.
The Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders are classified as neurological conditions. The two most commonly reported disorders are: Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), when a person’s body clock forces them into a late-hour sleep, such as 2 AM to 10 AM or later; and Non-24 Sleep-Wake Syndrome where the sleep cycle shifts ahead (or, rarely, behind) by a significant amount of time each day. For example, they may fall sleep at 1 AM one night then can’t fall asleep until 3 AM the next then 5 AM the next and so on. This shift continues to occur every day, all the way around the clock. It’s believed that a majority of people who are blind experience Non-24, but it also occurs, more rarely, in the sighted population.
Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome (ASPS), when a person’s sleep cycle is earlier than the norm, is less commonly diagnosed. For example, a person with ASPS may regularly fall asleep as early as 7 PM and wake up at 3 AM. Another uncommon CRSD is Irregular Sleep-Wake Syndrome (ISWR), when one’s circadian rhythm appears to have no discernible pattern.
Our Mission
We aim to create high quality film(s) that will be recognized and disseminated throughout the world. A pretty big goal, yes! But we are confident with our skills and our team, and in our pursuit to create some awesome work.
We have divided our film into two parts, eventually combining them to create a longer film. This is a more reasonable goal due to the availability of an all-voluntary crew (we do also plan to apply for a grant and fundraise for the Phase II).
Our first challenge is to create a short film animation describing the CRSDs. After that, we hope to gather interviews and media from people who suffer with CRSDs from around the world and combine the two, inserting the former within the animations.
In the end, we think we will create an awesome film that will not only help educate but aide in the diagnosis of those who struggle with these circadian sleep disorders.
Please support us by like in our Facebook page and throwing hey any additional crew members towards us!
We are excited as you are to see this through!
More information can be found on the Circadian Sleep Disorders Network website.