High Flying Jade
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WINNER - BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
2019
Vietnam
22 mins
Documentary Film Competition
Katherine Sweetman | |
Jayjit Dasgupta | |
Jade White | |
Discussion or Depiction of Suicide; Discussion or Depiction of Self-Harm |
High Flying Jade is the true story of a bipolar woman from Los Angeles who moved to Vietnam and joined the circus in Hồ Chí Minh City. In the US, Jade was an air traffic controller but repeated attempts at suicide culminated in hospitalization. She was eventually diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. Now, she tries to manage her unique brain chemistry with learned-mindfulness and focused aerial training. We meet her one week before the opening night of her first ever performance in a real, big top circus.

About the Director
Katherine Sweetman is an artist, filmmaker and media technologist with work distributed in major film festivals; broadcast on major TV outlets including Cox, Brighthouse Networks and Time Warner; shown in galleries and museums including The Getty Center, Los Angeles. Katherine has an MFA from the University of California, San Diego, and a second MFA in Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
Awards
2020 Awareness Film Festival – Audience Choice, Best Documentary Short
2021 Hot Springs International Women’s Film Festival – Festival Award
2021 Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival – Best Documentary Short
2020 Indie Short Fest – Best Documentary Short
2020 Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood – Best Documentary Short
2021 Nevada Short Film Festival – Best Editing
2020 Oniros Film Awards – Best Documentary Short
2021 Oregon Documentary Film Festival – Best International Film
2020 Peak City International Film Festival – Best Foreign Short Documentary
2020 Romford Film Festival – Best Documentary
2020 Show Low Film Festival – Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Documentary
2020 Superfest – Best of Festival (Documentary)
Trailer
https://vimeo.com/291184697