CUT: Teens and Self Injury provides an intimate look at a problem that affects thousands of young people, their families and friends.  Resisting sensationalism and graphic images, the film draws its power from the voices of the teens themselves.  They talk about the sources of their cutting: their experiences of alienation and inadequacy, their deep desire to feel, their sense of cutting as a part of the world they can control. They describe the resistance and denial that often greets their attempts to talk about their feelings and actions. And, crucially, they describe the ways in which they began to confront, and often overcome, their urge toward self-harm.  Interviews with parents and mental health professionals help establish broader contexts for understanding the extent of the problem and ways of addressing it.  Weaving in artworks created by the teens and music about self-injury, CUT's highlights include rock icon Shirley Manson's moving testimony concerning her own cutting.  Fully aware of the extent of the problem, the film incorporates the perspectives of males and females, whites blacks and Asian Americans.  Urgent, searching, and profoundly moving, CUT issues a call to bring the problem of self-injury out of the shadows and reminds us that the first step towards healing is an honest acknowledgement of reality.

Wendy Schneider
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 of audio production, producing 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 for People For The American Way, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the murders of civil rights activists Andrew Goodman, Mickey Schwerner and James Chaney. That experience led her to eschew the corporate life, relocate to the Midwest and attend the University of Wisconsin in 1990; she has lived in Madison ever since. Schneider is currently owner and chief engineer at Coney Island Recording Studios, producing projects for independent artists in the Midwest. She is also a regional rock performer and founder of Sparkle Dog®, a young company creating “Storyscapes®,” original children's literature brought to life with music scores, sound effects and narration. Cut is her first film.   
 
The Program:
For college appearances, Wendy will screen the movie Cut, followed by a discussion of self-cutting, what it means, and how those afflicted can seek help. For all appearances, we request that representatives of the school's Health and/or Counseling departments available to talk about specific opportunities for help on campus.
 
TESTMONIAL:
Katherine Spring, Assistant Professor of Film Studies,
Wilfrid Laurier University
Canada

I cannot overemphasize the pedagogical value that Wendy Schneider and her presentation of CUT brought to our campus in March 2008.  Schneider's unpretentious attitude engaged students immediately and in a variety of settings, including a small classroom and a large theatrical screening room.  She is a versatile presenter, a sharp communicator, and has a knack for meeting students where they're at rather than talking over their heads.  Without a doubt, her presentation of CUT opened a door for students who were eager to talk about the prevalence of self-injury on campus but couldn't figure out how or where to start.  Now, nearly six months later, I still run into students who thank my committee for arranging the presentation.