Film Screening followed by personal testimonies to raise awareness for the critical and little-known condition ME/CSF on Friday Aug 30th at 7:30pm at Bread and Puppet Theater in the Dirt Floor Cathedral

Please gather with us to raise awareness about ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and generate support for those suffering from this life debilitating condition. It often follows an infection and leaves 75% of those affected unable to work and 25% completely bedridden. An estimated 15-30 million people worldwide have ME and yet awareness and support for the condition is remarkably low.

Unrest, a film by Jennifer Brea, documents the filmmakers personal struggle combating the illness as well as the isolation and stigmatization associated with the condition. Jennifer was a 28 year old Harvard University PhD candidate about to be married when a mysterious fever turned her life upside down. Doctors initially insisted that it was a mental condition, but in an act of courageous defiance, Jennifer picked up her camera to document her experience and connect patients around the world largely ignored by the mainstream. This is a story of love, loss, and perseverance, the heartfelt testimony of millions seemingly abandoned by modern medicine.

This evening of generating awareness was initiated by Walker Storz, a young member of the Bread and Puppet community, who has been struggling with this condition for the past two years. Walker was debilitated by ME/CFS in his early twenties, and has been completely bedridden, putting a standstill to his college education and the lives of his sister's and parents as the whole family comes together to share the enormous responsibility, both material and emotional, of intensive caregiving.