ROCKER SHIRLEY MANSON SIGNS ON TO CUT
Garbage singer will lend her experience to documentary on self-harm

Media Contact: Wendy Schneider, 608.239-5771 or HYPERLINK "mailto:btype35@aol.com" btype35@aol.com

In the documentary Cut, currently in production, a handful of courageous teens will share their experience in the secret world of self-harm.

Among them will be a familiar face to fans of contemporary music – Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson.

"This is a subject that has long been swept under the carpet,” said Manson. “It needs to be talked about and it needs to be talked about now.”

Manson said she once used cutting to cope with feelings of loss and desperation, and only when she discovered a different outlet in music could she begin to recover. She's not alone – it's estimated that about one percent of Americans experience self-harm.

Several teens in various stages of recovery as well as mental health professionals dedicated to helping them will join Manson in candid interviews in the short subject documentary. The film will also feature professionals from S.A.F.E. Alternatives in Chicago, one of the nation's first inpatient facilities dedicated to exclusively treating self harm.

“ Cut addresses an aspect of self-harm that is extremely prevalent,” says Karen Contrario of S.A.F.E. Alternatives. “No school, library or counselor should be without this provocative and educational film.”

Filming will take place during the summer of 2006, after which Schneider and her associates will seek distribution. Manson will donate all of her time, as Schneider is actively seeking funding for the project. She will welcome sponsorship inquiries and opportunities. A portion of the film's proceeds will be donated for teen treatment.

About the Filmmaker

New York native Wendy Schneider started as a bike messenger for a multimedia production company at 17 years of age. Eight years later, she was creative director for audio production, working on projects for major corporate clients that included the National Geographic Society and the International Center for Photography.

In 1989, she produced her first audio documentary to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the deaths of civil rights activists Goodman, Schwener and Chaney for People for the American Way. That experience led her to eschew the corporate life and move to Madison to attend the Univeristy of Wisconsin in 1990; she has lived in Madison ever since.

Schneider is currently owner and chief engineer at Coney Island Recording Studios, working with independent record labels and bands. She is also founder of Sparkle Dog, a company formed to produce “StoryScapes,” original children's stories set to original music on CD, as well as accompanying educational materials.

Cut is her first film.

'Cut' film sheds light on self-injury
By Debra Carr-Elsing

Self-injury isn't talked about very much, but it should be. Millions of girls and young women in America participate in this behavior, and talking openly about these issues is the first step to recovery.

That's why Madison filmmaker Wendy Schneider is producing and directing a new documentary on this often obscure problem. The film is titled "Cut: Teens and Self-Injury."

"A lot of people don't understand self-injury," Schneider says.

"Teens that I've spoken to feel a lot of shame and isolation because there's a prevalent layer of judgment that's associated with self-injury, and it comes from misconceptions about why a teen might be engaging in this behavior."
'Cut' film sheds light on self-injury
Submitted photo
Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage

Self-harm also isn't just associated with teens and women, she adds. Men do this, too.

A benefit concert to help raise funds for the production and distribution of the film will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave.

Tax-deductible donations of $5 or more will be taken at the door, and the event will feature three popular Madison acts: Wilhelmina Baker, Bob Manor and the Getaway Drivers and the Motor Primitives.

Schneider hopes to release the documentary in September. For more information, check online at wwwcutthemovie.com.

The film explores the issues of self-harm through the experiences and honest stories of teens and counselors. It's being produced in partnership with Briarpatch: Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin and is being distributed by SAFE Alternatives in Chicago, the first in-patient center dedicated to self-harm in this country.

"One thing I've learned is that cutting provides some relief for frustration, stress and anxiety," Schneider says. "It's a behavior linked to feelings that can be very common.

"But I don't understand why this particular behavior seems to be growing right now."

According to the film's Web site, it's estimated that four in every 100 Americans will harm themselves at some time in their lives. The pain and despair of those afflicted often is compounded by lack of awareness and understanding.

"As more information gets out there, the more resources, support groups, hotlines and studies might pop up," Schneider says. "There aren't a lot of studies done on self-injury, and teens want to talk about these issues."

The "Cut" documentary features candid interviews with teens in recovery. Also included is an interview with Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage, who is a survivor of self-harm.

On Saturday, the bands at the benefit concert are donating their time to the cause, and High Noon Saloon is donating the stage time.

"I've been following Wendy's progress with this project and heightening awareness on these issues is very important," says Cathy Dethmers, owner of High Noon Saloon.

Pam Barrett of the Motor Primitives says that the video documentary will be a valuable resource, and she's happy to help raise funds for its distribution.

A New York native, Schneider is owner and chief engineer at Coney Island Recording Studios, which produces for independent record labels and regional artists. She also is founder of Sparkle Dog, a company that does Storyscapes, which are narratives set to original music on CDs for children.

Manson says that self-injury is a subject that has long been swept under the carpet.

"It needs to be talked about and it needs to be talked about now," she says.

It is hoped that the weekend fundraiser will help raise enough funds so Schneider can complete the documentary, which is still in production.

"I've gotten teens interested in the film by going to Briarpatch and showing portions of the film," Schneider says. "It's been great working with Briarpatch counselors too."

Segments of "Cut" also were included in an audio documentary on self-injury that aired last week in Australia.

"It's amazing how everyone is saying very similar things about self-injury," Schneider says. "This is not a difficult behavior to understand if, in fact, the information is out there to access."

A big misconception is that self-injury is suicidal behavior, Schneider says. "It can be, but many teens have told me that cutting has kept them from committing suicide."

Her goal is to have the film used to help educate and to supplement recovery.

"It's really hard to find media out there on self-injury, and this project is from the point of view of teens," Schneider says, "and we don't get to see - or hear - that as often as we should."

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Manson heads film on self-harming
ANNA MILLAR ARTS CORRESPONDENT

SCOTS singer Shirley Manson is to talk about her troubled history of self-harm as part of a one-off documentary aimed at preventing teenagers from developing the condition.

The Edinburgh-born singer of rock group Garbage has previously admitted her troubled history, revealing that she had body dysmorphia, and used to inflict self-harm as a youngster.

Forthcoming film CUT: Teens And Self Injury will be the first time Manson has talked at length about her condition.

American producer Wendy Schneider began the project last year after discovering a friend's daughter had tried to commit suicide after self-harming herself for over four years.

The footage of interviews from Manson and others with the condition will be used to deter others from self-harming. Schneider is filming the final interviews and the final production will be completed by early October.

Schneider said: "I could do the festival circuit, that's wonderful, but I want it to reach school nurses, nurses in emergency rooms, teens. I would love to go into schools, show this film and speak about the experiences.

"Interviewing my friend's daughter, she told me that out of 125 kids in her school, she knows 25 who cut," says Schneider. "The behaviour itself has a very potent, almost addictive quality."

Manson began cutting herself as a teenager, after being bullied regularly at school but is believed to have recovered fully. She has kept a low profile since Garbage split in October last year. Rumours have been rife since that she is working on a solo album.

The singer admitted in July that she had contacted Paul Buchanan of Scottish group Blue Nile to write for her.