Lena’s childhood is much like anyone’s: loving parents, great friends, big dreams, and a secret…

Lena manages her secret, mental illness, for years even after having a daughter and shelving her own ambitions. But when her father passes away she suffers a schizophrenic break leading her to unwittingly commit an assault that lands her in a psychiatric hospital.

In this VR film, you’ll get to experience psychotic symptoms from the perspective of the mentally ill, and see what it means to trust the people around you more than you can trust your own reality. Through the power of VR storytelling, our goal is to share an experience with the world that gives audiences a look at mental illness never before possible, deepening our understanding and building empathy for the effects these crippling diseases can have on individuals’ lives.

Based on a true story, Lena’s Journey was produced in partnership between the XR production studio CM&D and Western State Mental Hospital in WA State.