Private Project

Tess: Living With OCD

Tess invites us into her brain for a rare glimpse into the life of someone living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In vivid detail, she describes what it's really like living with OCD, a reality that's far more complex than one would think. In our culture we tend to throw around "OCD" casually, but in this short documentary we see the truth of OCD, and some glimmers of hope for anyone living with this often misunderstood diagnosis.

  • Dylan Tuccillo
    Director
    Donald
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 43 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dylan Tuccillo

Dylan is a filmmaker and published author. He studied at NYU Tisch Film School and spent the years since making films, writing books, and producing commercial content.

A feature screenplay that Dylan wrote in 2007 won a $10,000 award from the Sloan Foundation. A documentary of his was featured on Upworthy.com and viewed over 240,000 times. “Donald”, a short documentary, was selected to premiere at Lincoln Center as part of the ReelAbilities Festival. Another short, “A Best Man”, was an official selection by Hollyshorts, Omletto and New York Cinefest. A documentary he produced, “David Again”, premiered at Tribeca and screened at several Oscar qualifying festivals. He received a production grant from the Inwood Film Festival to produce his short film “Giant”.

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Director Statement

To be honest, I didn't know much about obsessive compulsive disorder when Columbia University commissioned me to make this short documentary. Or I thought we did--but I was wrong. The problem is more severe than I expected, and Tess Lancaster communicates the struggles and nuances of OCD with clarity, as she invites us inside her brain. Perhaps the general public will become more aware of OCD by watching this, but my largest hope is for other folks with the disorder see the film and feel less isolated.