Here One Day

In her artful, affecting documentary, filmmaker Kathy Leichter tries to understand more about her late mother by sifting through photographs, home movies, and audio recordings. In 1958, Nina Williams married Franz Leichter, a Holocaust survivor (his mother died in a concentration camp) who went on to become a New York state senator. Friends and relatives remember Nina, a school administrator, as bright, charming, and witty, but starting in the 1970s, she began to suffer from severe mood swings. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Nina took medication and attended a support group. Franz encouraged Nina to become more politically active, but she feared that her marriage would suffer if she spent too much time outside the home (she did, however, print up buttons for associates that read “Kiss Me, I Have a Mental Instability”). Over time, Nina's depression worsened, particularly after the death of her own mother. She tried different prescriptions and even electroshock therapy, but no one realized how hopeless Nina felt until she jumped to her death from the family's 11th-story apartment. By engaging with the very materials she spent 16 years trying to avoid, Leichter has been able to move forward. A powerful personal story, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)