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http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100411/LIFE/4110305/1001/news

Salem residents will get a rare glimpse inside the mental hospital in their midst today at the first public screening for the documentary "Guilty Except for Insanity." The 90-minute film is directed by Jan Haaken, a psychology professor at Portland State University. She and her crew filmed at Oregon State Hospital from fall 2007 to fall 2009. They followed five patients sent there because they pled guilty except for insanity to major crimes.

Three of the patients have moved on to community treatment centers in Cornelius, Woodburn and Umatilla. The other two remain at the hospital.

Today's screening at the Historic Grand Theatre is not the first in Salem; on March 30, Haaken showed a rough cut to hospital administrators and to patients and staff who appeared in the film. She made some changes based on their feedback.

"It was so moving to me; they all hugged me," Haaken said.

The film intersperses current footage with clips from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the 1975 Oscar-winning film shot at the state hospital. The "Cuckoo's Nest" segments, plus clips from military films of the era, give context for the kind of attitudes and treatments that once were standard.

Haaken follows how patients wind up on the forensics wards of the hospital; their life and treatment in the hospital; how they are judged ready to leave; and the scarce options for supervised care in local communities.

Several patients relate how they tried unsuccessfully to get help for their worsening mental problems before they committed serious crimes. The trauma of being arrested and jailed only aggravated their problems, they told Haaken.

"Pickup by police becomes a very costly route," she said. "Many of these problems could have been prevented."

For some patients who plead guilty except for insanity, the state hospital represents a comforting place. But others chafe at sentences that can stretch far longer than a prison term with early release.

"I am hoping people will feel not just empathic for the people in the film, but that there must be a better way of doing things," Haaken said. "It's not that only they are insane; we're all in the grips of a kind of madness here."

Since last summer, Haaken has raised about $30,000 that was needed to edit the film and prepare it for showing. She will listen to feedback from viewers, including those in Salem, before doing the final editing.

She and Carl Vandervoort, the film's editor, plan to trim the 90-minute film to a 50-minute version for classroom use. They're also shopping the film to public broadcasting networks.

The next step is getting the money to take the film to festivals and market it. The proceeds from today's screening will help. Any profits from further distribution will fund future PSU documentaries on community mental health.

Haaken also plans to show the film June 27 at the Portland Art Museum. However, she understands that Salem audiences may view the film in a more personal way because the hospital is their neighbor.

"I think it's important not to be cavalier about these concerns," she said. "People have a right to feel safe in their community. But the effect of building high fences and barbed wire around places with double-locked doors is that you project the feeling that the people inside are very dangerous."

In contrast, Haaken said, during 21/2 years filming inside the building, she had warm interactions with patients and staff.

"We need to build community confidence that professionals can make decisions about who to release," she said.