A BAFTA-NOMINATED Scottish production is to be released across UK and Irish cinemas this week.
Electric Malady, which was directed by Edinburgh School of Art graduate Marie liden and produced by Glasgow-based Aconite Productions, was Bafta nominated for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer.
It was inspired by the experience of Liden’s mother who suffered from electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), electromagnetic hypersensitivity is characterised by a variety of non-specific symptoms that differ between individuals and who believe their illness is caused by electromagnetic field exposure.
“The symptoms are certainly real and can vary widely in their severity,” WHO states.
“Whatever its cause, EHS can be a disabling problem for the affected individual. EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF [electromagnetic field] exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem.”
The new documentary takes audiences into the isolated world of William, a one-time master’s student and aspiring musician, who has spent a decade retreating from modern life due to his EHS which he believes is caused by the electrical radiation from the interconnected digital age.
It has led him to a remote cabin in the Swedish wilderness where he’s cut himself off from most forms of technology. Hidden in a foil-encased bedroom, beneath layers of copper-lined fabric, he speaks openly to Liden about suffering from the condition.
Shot partly with a hand-cranked Bolex camera, the film is described as a sympathetic portrait of loneliness and isolation and the efforts of a loving family to save their son’s life.
Liden said she hoped the film would give a voice to those suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
“In many cases, these people’s stories are marginalised because they cannot communicate the way we do through the internet or even using phones,” she said.
“I’m also very aware of the boundaries exposed within the film, the questions raised about the differences between mental and physical symptoms and how we apply rules of diagnosis.
“I am excited by issues that straddle definition, where mainstream society wants to draw neat lines between the conscious and unconscious, the psychological and the physiological as the real experience of people can be much more complex.
“I believe we have to explore these boundaries and continually challenge them, to ensure we do give a voice to the marginalised.”
Electric Malady is released by Conic in UK/Irish cinemas on March 3
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