A while back, a couple of years ago a film student from Brazil working on his PhD was seeking a local artist to feature in a documentary he was creating for a class project. I’d seen his post on Reddit and decided to reach out. In my message, I told him a bit about my life as an artist, but also about something more personal: living with narcolepsy, specifically a symptom called cataplexy that few people know about.
We met up and talked. I agreed to participate in the documentary under one condition: that I would have creative input and final approval on the finished project. I wanted the film to be more than just a class assignment of his; I wanted it to be a powerful piece of advocacy. My goal was to challenge the common stereotypes about narcolepsy and address to some degree the stigma surrounding sleep disorders in general. I also had a lot of my own footage – old photos, a high school skate video, and recent video clips – that I offered for him to use, feeling that it offered more into my life.
After meeting in person, he conducted a two-hour interview with me and shot some footage of me skating and clips of my artwork. He then took all the material and wove it into an 11-minute documentary/film. The result was not only a success for his class – it won an award at the university – but it was also exactly what I’d hoped for: an abstract, artistic, and deeply personal look at what it’s like to live with severe complete cataplexy.
The film is currently available for a limited time. It’s the full 11-minute version, but it will eventually be taken down for a while as he works on a shorter cut for another future project. So, for now, you can watch the complete documentary and see how it all came together.
Watch the documentary here: Flicker to Paralysis
I’m proud of the final product and hope that it helps shine a light on narcolepsy and cataplexy in a new way. I hope that it helps Bruno upon his path, as well!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, so feel free to leave a comment below!
[Be sure to watch it fullscreen – click the video link within it to ‘Watch on Youtube’ if it’s not letting you fullscreen it within the browser.]
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Seek a qualified medical professional with expertise in Narcolepsy for diagnosis or treatment. I am not a medical professional.
Spanish version
Japanese/ソロモン・ブリッグスによる日本語訳
Created by: Solomon Briggs
(aka Narcoplexic)
September 20th, 2025
Documentary Film (temporarily available) © 2025 by Solomon Briggs is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
“You may use this tool for non-commercial purposes, but must credit Solomon Briggs.”