Ben Selkow

Buried Above Ground

Ben Selkow

Over six years, BURIED ABOVE GROUND tells the stories of three Americans battling the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - an Iraq War veteran; a Hurricane Katrina evacuee; and a child abuse and domestic violence survivor.

A Summer in the Cage

Ben Selkow

Sam Murchison, Sharon Hayden

"A Summer in the Cage" is filmmaker Ben Selkow's feature-length documentary chronicling his friend Sam's battle with manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar disorder. The film follows Sam for seven years as he suffers delusional manic episodes, battles paralyzing depressions, and tries to escape the legacy of his bipolar father who committed suicide when Sam was eight years old. By showing the difficult emotional impact of being bipolar on Sam, his family, all those who care about him and the filmmaker, "A Summer in the Cage" hopes to put a human face on an illness that affects millions of American families. But as this dramatic story unfolds and heads to an explosive standoff, it also becomes a unique tale about friendship and the ethical responsibilities of a documentary filmmaker.