Controversial Dox

My Beautiful Broken Brain

Sophie Robinson, Lotje Sodderland
Screening time  
24.02. / Tuesday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 5  
“If I’m faced with the question of who I am? Someone who has a ton of friends, very hard working, loves to read. What if all of that evidence is removed? What does that make me?”

“If I’m faced with the question of who I am? Someone who has a ton of friends, very hard working, loves to read. What if all of that evidence is removed? What does that make me?” Lotje Sodderland was 34 and in her prime when tragedy struck: lying in bed alone one night, she suffered a stroke. With almost superhuman effort she managed to get out of the house, and she was later found in a public restroom. After a tough time in the hospital, Lotje picked up a camera and pointed it at herself. Obsessed by recording and documenting so as not to forget, Lotje allows filmmaker Sophie Robinson in. Together, they attempt to capture her sensory experiences and totally altered perception in both sound and vision. The camera follows this spirited woman through her intensive rehabilitation, during which she participates in a scientific experiment aimed at recovering use of the language regions of her brain.

My-passport-photo

Sophie Robinson

Sophie Robinson has been making documentaries for the last 15 years, including many films for the BBC & Discovery Channel. She is especially drawn to filming documentaries exploring every- thing from premature births, liver transplants and heart surgery to OCD & drug addiction.

Lotje-passport-photo

Lotje Sodderland

Lotje Sodderland was a Dutch-French documentary film writer and producer who first gained prominence in the mid-2000s when she was writing about transformative digital culture for The Financial Times, SBS Australia, IDFA DocLab and Wired. She went on to become a digital producer at Mother London, before making her directorial debut with Boomtown Babylon alongside Vincent Moon. In November 2011, Lotje survived an inter cerebral brain haemorrhage, transforming her language and perception faculties.

General sponsor

My Beautiful Broken Brain

Great Britain
2014, 84', DCP

Directed by:
Sophie Robinson, Lotje Sodderland

Cinematography:
Sophie Robinson, Lotje Sodderland

Edited by:
James Scott

Music:
Nick Ryan

Producer:
Sophie Robinson

Produced by:
My Beautiful Broken Brain Ltd

Festivals & Awards:

IDFA 2014 – DOC U Award, The Alliance of Women Film Journalists Special Mention for Best Female-Directed Documentary