USA | Documentary | 2017 | 106 min.
Director: Miranda Bailey
Additional Credits: Producers: Miranda Bailey, Marc lesser, Amanda Marshall, Editor: Andrea Maxwell, Cinematographers: Jeffrey Buras, Marc Lesser
In the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film, VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license for his infamous study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism. The Pathological Optimist takes us into the inner sanctum of Wakefield and his family from 2011- 2016 as he fights for his day in court in a little-known defamation case against the British Medical Journal. Wakefield attempts to clear his name as the media-appointed Father of the Anti-vaccine movement. Director Miranda Bailey weaves a delicate portrait of a man who is THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST utilizing a never-before-seen, full access look at the man at the center of one of the biggest medical and media controversies of our times.
Scheduled to Attend Q&A:
Crew
Miranda Bailey, Director
Amanda Marshall, Producer
Craig Richey, Composer
Andrea Maxwell, Editor
Print Source / Contact
Miranda Bailey
miranda@coldironpictures.com
Prolific producer, actor and director, Miranda Bailey is known for producing high-quality independent films. Her passion for bringing strong, well-crafted stories to the screen is evident in the diversity of her movies. In a 15-year filmmaking career, Bailey has distinguished herself by producing over 20 films; among them the Oscar-nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and the Spirit Award-winning THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL as well as James Gunn’s SUPER, the Sundance hit SWISS ARMY MAN and the critically acclaimed NORMAN.
In addition to producing, Bailey is an accomplished director and actor. Her directorial debut GREENLIT – a humorous documentary examining the hypocrisy inherent in Hollywood’s “green” movement - premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival to critical acclaim and was acquired by IFC International. The documentary is available on iTunes, Amazon & Hulu. Also, Bailey wrote and directed a comedy short film about a couple who go on the quest for the perfect three way titled, ANOTHER HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, which premiered at the LA Shorts Festival and went onto to win several awards in the film festival circuit.
Bailey’s second documentary entitled THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST which follows one of the world’s most hated & controversial people, Dr. Wakefield who lay claim to vaccines creating autism in children, premiered at the 2017 Manhattan Film Festival.
Other titles, SWISS ARMY MAN starring Golden Globe-nominee Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe was released by A24 in July 2016. DON’T THINK TWICE, directed by Mike Birbiglia, starring Gillian Jacobs and produced with Ira Glass (This American Life) premiered July 2016. NORMAN, directed by Joseph Cedar (BEAUFORD, a Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee) in his first English-language movie, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released this past April by Sony Classics to rave reviews.
Bailey’s I DO…UNTIL I DON’T directed by and starring Lake Bell and Ed Helms opens September 1. Presently Miranda is in post-production of her directorial feature YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY starring Jim Gaffigan and Anna Gunn. She will also produce Rob Zombie’s RAISED EYEBROWS and has several more titles in development for 2017.