CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Coat of Arms is not very Canadian.
There are no lions or unicorns in Canada as depicted in the heraldic emblem, points out 86-year-old Bob Choma, sitting on his bed barefoot, still a sharp wit.
ChomaB次元官网网址檚 own playful hand-drawn reinterpretations are posted to the walls of his room at Sunset Lodge. Magazine cutouts, photographs and his own art join the collage.
He is a man of audacious ideas and imagination, with a persuasive personality.
His life bears more than one resemblance to that of Frank Agabnale, which inspired the Leonardo DiCaprio film Catch Me If You Can.
During a drunken escapade in the Second World War, Choma took a plane for a joy ride. HeB次元官网网址檚 also been to prison for engraving a bank note (just to see if he could -- not to actually counterfeit money).
B次元官网网址淲hen I got out, I did money orders for every bank in Canada,B次元官网网址� he says.
As a child, he studied under the Group of Seven, taught creativity courses at universities, and ran large graphic design companies.
But those were the good, manic times.
ThereB次元官网网址檚 also been low times: alcoholism, bankruptcy and attempted suicides.
Just like Abagnale, ChomaB次元官网网址檚 life has inspired a film, debuting this month.
His long-time friend, Bruce Saunders, began filming the documentary 17 years ago. At the time, Choma was B次元官网网址渢otally depressed, in hospital B次元官网网址� he was just waddling around barely able to smile or talk,B次元官网网址� Saunders recalls.
As Choma started to recover, an idea for an art project inspired him: to create 20 brightly-painted sculptures out of driftwood and display them at the Moss Street Paint-In.
On the big day, in 1994, Saunders grabbed a video camera to capture the event. But the one-day triumph turned out to be just the beginning. Over the years, Saunders added more and more interviews with Choma and his wife.
B次元官网网址淭he more I found out about him, the more fascinating he became,B次元官网网址� he says.
The two met in a support group for people with bipolar disorder in the early 1990s. The disorder (Saunders prefers the term condition) is characterized by periods of severe depression, followed by periods of extreme elation or irritability called mania.
Many people with bipolar condition are very creative, says Saunders, of Movie Monday fame.
For almost two decades, Saunders has hosted the popular movie night, aimed at sparking debate about mental illness, and the way itB次元官网网址檚 portrayed in the movies.
Filmmakers too often end their struggling charactersB次元官网网址� lives with a B次元官网网址渢idy jump off the bridge,B次元官网网址� he argues in his online posts. B次元官网网址淲hen screenwriters donB次元官网网址檛 choose more positive endings for their protagonists, we, as people with illnesses that come with a fair dollop of hopelessness built in, are encouraged to accept suicide as an appropriate end.B次元官网网址�
In ChomaVision, Saunders gets the chance to change the narrative. His film is primarily a celebration of ChomaB次元官网网址檚 art and creativity.
The project has also been a personal journey for Saunders.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not a filmmaker,B次元官网网址� he admits. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e struggled with it every winter, all these years, to try to get a handle on it B次元官网网址� Something would come up or IB次元官网网址檇 just get defeated by it, and for my own mental health, IB次元官网网址檇 have to step away from it.B次元官网网址�
Finally, he got partnered with the right guy in Jay Carr to help him edit the film. For the past six weeks, the two have been racing against time, and incompatible computer systems, to meet the deadline.
The film debuted in Vancouver this weekend at an event celebrating creativity in people with bipolar disorder, hosted by a research team from the University of B.C.
The celebration comes on the heels of groundbreaking research by members of the team, dubbed Collaborative RESearch Team to study psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder.
The research provides an examination of treatment for the disorder that acknowledges the high rates of creativity in this population.
Creative professions, which often involve irregular hours, substance misuse, lack of public recognition and financial stress, may aggravate symptoms, it concludes.
At the same time, patients may resist treatments whose goal is B次元官网网址渞estoring normalcy,B次元官网网址� or to stabilize their mood. B次元官网网址淢any clients believe that their creative accomplishments are fostered by high periods B次元官网网址� so such beliefs are worth carefully evaluating,B次元官网网址� write authors Greg Murray and Sheri Johnson.
Saunders can relate.
When he launched Movie Mondays, while hospitalized after a suicide attempt, his wife cautioned him to take it slow.
B次元官网网址淧eople (with bipolar disorder) are more manageable when they are slightly depressed,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭heir families are more comfortable with them a little depressed, and so are the doctors.B次元官网网址�
The problem, he says, is if you medicate away the creativity, people might just give up.
B次元官网网址淢ost people would die to have that kind of energy and quick thinking. You just have to be careful about how you use it.B次元官网网址�
The key, he says, is finding the sweet spot, B次元官网网址渨here youB次元官网网址檙e being creative, but youB次元官网网址檙e not going off the top end with a huge manic high, and then falling into depression.B次元官网网址�
Launching a film has been a risk but Saunders says it has paid off.
While the filmB次元官网网址檚 taken way longer than planned, the delays may be a blessing in disguise.
Instead of simply portraying a snapshot of ChomaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渄ay in the sunB次元官网网址� at the Moss Street art show, the film follows him through his senior years. The driftwood sculptures have since rotted in the backyard, but ChomaB次元官网网址檚 life on film ends on a exuberant note, with him leading a singalong with a booming voice.
Choma has already seen the rough cut.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of peculiar,B次元官网网址� he says of the experience. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 think I was that way they have me in the movie B次元官网网址� I just go on doing things, in my life B次元官网网址� unusual things B次元官网网址� and I think nothing of it, but somebody turns around and says, B次元官网网址楢h! Fantastic!B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
rholmen@vicnews.com
