Daytime Tiger

Portrait of New Zealand writer and bipolar disorder sufferer Michael Morrissey. From filmmaker Costa Botes (Forgotten Silver), this documentary shows the effects that his refusal to take pharmaceutical medication - due to his fears that it will stymie his "genius" - has on both himself and the people that love him.

"An up-close encounter with an extremely intelligent man in the grip of bipolar disorder. It’s also a harrowing portrait of marriage vows tested to the extreme. Morrissey was diagnosed with manic depression in 1999 but long rejected available medication. Having failed to find a publisher for his written account, he invited the filmmaker into his house to record his battle to ‘tame the tiger’ through willpower. Botes gives full reign to his subject’s convictions, clearly staggered by the phenomenally rapid idea association taking place when ‘the genius’ is on a manic talking jag." (Source: NZ International Film Festival 2011)

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