'Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets' Now On Demand

Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets is now on demand everywhere. It's a dramatic comedy that follows the challenging, wild and humorous life of James Whitman, played by Lucas Jade Zumann (Anne with an E). James is sixteen and struggling to overcome anxiety and depression while navigating the rapids of high school and a troubled home life. Actor Chase Stokes (Outer Banks), youth ambassador for BC2M, plays Martin.

The film premiers on demand everywhere on ​January 12th.  It is also prud to announce a partnership with Bring Change to Mind aka BC2M, an organization recognized by CNN as one of its Heroes of 2020. BC2M, co-founded by Glenn Close, uses storytelling to curate and develop youth programs to encourage a diverse cultural conversation around mental health to end the stigma and discrimination of mental illness.

Directed by Yaniv Raz, the screenplay was written by Yaniv Raz based on the novel by Evan Roskos. The film stars Lucas Jade Zumann, Jason Isaacs, Lisa Edelstein, David Arquette, Taylor Russell, Tom Wilkinson, Chase Stokes, and Odiseas Georgiadis.

Beginning January 14th, fans of Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets will have the opportunity to help our combined efforts as Lucas Jade Zumann will be sending someone the school uniform he wore in the film, and another donor will get the “hipster pants” worn by Chase Stokes. To donate to this great cause, fans will click on the link on the Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets social media pages (@drbirdsadvicemovie) and be directed to the Bringchange2mind.org site. 
 
Fans will find a donation button with options to donate $5, $10, and upwards, and are able to donate as many times as they like. For every $5 incremental donation, their name will be entered into a digital database ($5 gets 1 name in the database, $50 gets 10 names into the database) to be randomly selected on February 14th. Names will be announced on our social media pages. Simply select the amount you wish to donate, click on the button, select the pulldown window “in honor of Dr. Bird’s Advice - Chase”, or “in honor of Dr. Bird’s Advice – Lucas”, and enter your information. 100% of donations will go directly to Bring Change to Mind to continue to bring their message to the world about ending the stigma of mental illness.

Film Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old James Whitman played by Lucas Jade Zumann (20th Century Women, Anne With An ‘E’), struggles to overcome anxiety and depression by seeking advice from Dr. Bird voiced by Tom Wilkinson (The Grand Budapest Hotel). In his magical realism inspired world, James goes on a whimsical, but emotionally charged search to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his sister, after an altercation with their parents depicted by Lisa Edelstein (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce , The Kominsky Method), and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter , Star Trek: Discovery). While James (Zumann) struggles to connect with his parents, he deals with the intense social anxiety of high school life while navigating first love with Sophie, portrayed by Taylor Russell (Lost in Space, Waves) – a precocious girl from school who has her own agenda and a boyfriend Martin that hasn’t quite learned to let go of her, brought to life by Chase Stokes (Outer Banks). Our two lovestruck teens set out on a quest to find Jorie, finding themselves in what appears to be a cult of sorts, led by David Arquette (Scream series) as Xavier, and into the under belly of NYC nightlife that makes James question every relationship in his life.

​About Bring Change to Mind (BC2M)
BC2M is a national non-profit organization with the mission of ending the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness. BC2M launched its high school program Fall 2015 in an effort to provide an evidence-based resource for teens in the school environment. BC2M supports over 400 high school clubs and 12,000 active club members across 22 states. BC2M works from the teen perspective up - through creating student-led high school clubs and providing a platform from which the teen voice can finally be heard. With educated conversation around mental illness, BC2M is changing perceptions early on and demystifying a topic that affects so many young individuals, either directly through their own experience or indirectly through a family members or friends’ diagnosis.

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by IC mag Editors