Brain on Fire (film)

Brain on Fire
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGerard Barrett
Screenplay byGerard Barrett
Based onBrain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by Susannah Cahalan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYaron Orbach
Edited byJC Bond
Music byJohn Paesano
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • September 14, 2016 (2016-09-14) (TIFF)
  • June 22, 2018 (2018-06-22) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Canada
  • Ireland
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Brain on Fire is a 2016 biographical drama film directed and written by Irish filmmaker Gerard Barrett. The film is based on Susannah Cahalan's memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness and stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Jenny Slate, Thomas Mann, Tyler Perry, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Richard Armitage.

The film follows the true story of a New York Post writer who begins to experience a mysterious illness. After being evaluated extensively by many doctors, she was diagnosed to be psychotic. She would have been committed to the psychiatric ward in a hospital and probably died of encephalitis, if it were not for the efforts and skills of Syrian-American neurologist Souhel Najjar. He sympathized with her case and was able to diagnose and treat her rare illness.

Principal photography began on July 13, 2015, in Vancouver, British Columbia. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2016. The film was released on Netflix on June 22, 2018.

  1. ^ "Brain on Fire". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 16, 2016.