New York City filmmaker Richard C.Ledes (on the right) has directed--and, in some cases, also written and produced--a unique body of work that often draws on his interest in Lacanian psychoanalysis and for collective madness. His films frequently have attracted the collaboration of some of the biggest names in independent cinema, including Michelle Williams, Michael Imperioli, Wendell Pierce, David Patrick Kelly, Frank Langella, Laura Harring and Elliott Gould. In his upcoming film, V13, Alan Cumming plays the role of SIgmund Freud.

His background directing experimental plays in Paris led to writing on performance art for Artforum. His first feature film A HOLE IN ONE, set in 1953, starring Michelle Williams, about a woman who wants a lobotomy, originated in a piece of performance art. Ledes based the performance on the psychiatric records of his mother’s brother, a WW2 veteran who suffered a psychotic break upon his return to civilian life.

Ledes holds a doctorate in comparative literature from NYU, where he wrote a dissertation on the rise of mental healthcare in the U.S. after WWII. The rise was premised on the needs of returning veterans. This in turn transformed the place of mental healthcare in popular American literature and culture of the period. During his research he volunteered at an outpatient center for people living with a severe and chronic mental illness. At the center he became the assistant-director of their theater program and founded a group where they read aloud the stories of Poe, Hawthorne and Melville. This combination of a personal connection to a film’s theme with research into its broader social significance remains an important hallmark of his work.

Psychoanalysis, particularly the work of Jacques Lacan, first entered his work when he was researching the themes of madness and mental healthcare in the US for his first film and has remained a significant influence. His recent film, ADIEU LACAN, tells the story of an analysis conducted by Jacques Lacan in the 1970s. In addition to his feature films Ledes continues to make short and essay films as well as continuing to write in a variety of forms, including screenplays and essays.