“Asylum” (1971, Peter Robinson, 95 minutes) is the third film in the screening series “What Would the Community Think?” curated by Jake Perlin

“In 1971, a group of filmmakers were granted the opportunity to film for several weeks at a unique home for “mentally troubled” individuals in London, UK. The Archway Community was based in large part on the theories of the late, radical psychiatrist R.D. Laing, including his belief that the hierarchical structure of the usual doctor-patient relationship could be broken down by communal living – an effort to break the cycle of people being fruitlessly shuttled between mental hospitals and their often dysfunctional homes. The film participates in this ethos, simply observing the housemates as they interact with each other, often in fascinating digressions that illustrate Laing’s thesis at the time that “madness”, while painful, could sometimes have creative and socially positive outcomes. A tremendously humane and powerful document of community.”
– courtesy Laing Society

About the Series

A film series that explores how people form communities, the shared vision through which it is built, and what is deemed a success or failure. “What Would the Community Think?” highlights filmmaking collectives documenting their own existence or that of others, and the community that is created just by watching a film together.

Previous screenings in this series: “Approaching the Elephant” (Amanda Rose Wilder, 2014), “Troublemakers and We Got to Live Here” (Norman Fruchter & Robert Machover, 1966)

About Pioneer Works

Pioneer Works (www.pioneerworks.org) is a platform for innovation in contemporary arts and an incubator for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Founded in Red Hook by artist Dustin Yellin.