Borderline
Borderline
Borderline
Borderline
Borderline

Borderline

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    • Directed & Produced by: Rebbie Ratner
    • Executive Producer: Barbara Kopple
    • Released: 2018 Educational Release
Running Time: 88 min 
Language: English
Includes Closed Captions
Subjects: Physical and Mental Health, Psychology, People with Disability, Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology

SYNOPSIS

People say having a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnosis is equivalent to walking through life with a Do Not Resuscitate order. To the extent that it is portrayed in popular culture, the disorder is often caricatured: shrieking outbursts, bleeding eyeliner, dark mascara and slashed wrists. This film does not do that. BORDERLINE is the first documentary film to capture the lived experience of Borderline Personality Disorder. An estimated 2 percent of the US population carry the diagnosis, 80 percent of these people attempt suicide, and 10 percent succeed. Approximately 25 percent of the substance addicted and 25 percent of the eating disorder populations meet the diagnostic criteria for BPD, yet few are actually given a diagnosis.

This film follows one person with the Borderline diagnosis who gives us access to her internal world. Regina is a 45-year old woman – outta work and outta love. Witty and self-aware, she makes observations that are uncomfortable but astute, reacts on impulse, attacks, distracts, meditates, trips over herself, laughs, burns bridges, makes social gaffes, apologizes, loses her cool, philosophizes and remains dogged in her search for recovery. Yet her symptoms threaten to destroy the human intimacy she needs most to recover.

BORDERLINER NOTES

Explore filmmaker Rebbie Ratners incredible educational companion resource of 350+ online videos about Borderline Personality Disorder at the Borderliner Notes Youtube Channel.

FILM FESTIVAL SELECTIONS & SPECIAL SCREENINGS

  • Winner - DOC LA
  • DOC NYC
  • National Council for Behavioral Health Conference
  • American Psychological Association Film Festival
  • Sarasota Film Festival
  • Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
  • Portland Film Festival

ACADEMIC REVIEWS

**Highly Recommended by Education Media Reviews Online** “Ratner tells more than just Regina’s story through Borderline; she organizes an effective presentation of the diagnosis itself. The director includes a multitude of interviews from those who also suffer from BPD, tackling these individuals’ poignant thoughts of suicide, drug abuse, and their self-perspective of how and why they feel the way they do… In addition, Ratner brings in some of the leading clinical physicians in the field; Dr. John Gunderson of the Harvard McLean Hospital and Dr. Marsha Linehan, Director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics at Washington University. The latter is also a sufferer of BPD herself, which lends an interesting viewpoint to the film. These stylistic interviews are interwoven with Regina’s personal tale of woe and recovery… This film will be a strong addition to any academic library, especially one with a strong health science, mental health, or social work background. Regina’s multiple challenges with BPD and her perspectives on life are sure to invoke conversations in a classroom.” - Education Media Reviews Online, Bryan J. Sajecki, University at Buffalo

"Those who witness [Regina's] story will come away with a better understanding of her debilitating psychological disorder. Recommended." - Video Librarian

REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS

"Throughout this alternately piercing, maddening and riotously funny portrait, we see the volatile, heavily medicated Regina scream at her therapist, at strangers on the street, at focus group peers, and at Ratner herself — often for no clear reason. But we also see strains of immense sensitivity and empathy, plus a biting, self-deprecating sense of humor. By the end, you can't take your eyes off Regina; you start to recognize, if not share, her everyday grievances." - Village Voice

“As much about her daily battles with her shifting emotions and aggressions as it is about Regina’s battle finding love and a partner in this ever changing world, Borderline is a lively documentary punctuated by the brief but inspired bursts of directorial energy that thrives when it mixes the genuine discussion of the disorder with the everyday battle Regina faces. Occasionally finding herself getting involved with the proceedings, there’s something to director Ratner’s presence that makes this documentary feel almost otherworldly… The two have a clear rapport, but one that makes the film carry within its briskly paced 88 minute runtime a vitality all its own. Be it the use of black and white interview segments or various other flourishes, the documentary is a textured look at a singular woman and the strength she carries within, even when facing a disorder that makes every day an uphill battle.” - Ten Films to Keep an Eye on at this years Doc NYC - Criterion Cast

"If the documentary Borderline seems like a deeply personal film, that's because director Rebbie Ratner knows the subject matter all too well. She's been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) herself … ”I personally related to (R.'s) aggression in the film. That has been my albatross," said Ratner. "I don't think its an accident that some of her struggles are very similar to the struggles that I went through. "I reflected her most vulnerable parts — most indicative what is borderline and what fells a person." The end result is difficult for both the director and her subject to watch. But their pain is others' gain." - NY Daily News