In April of 2012 two escapees from the maximum security wing of a forensic psychiatric hospital find a safe hideout in Wiesbaden in the home of developer and part-time psychologist Hans Georg-Fischer. The man decides to take them to Sardinia, to start an alternative therapy centre together. He contacts two students of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne to document their project. The resulting documentary accompanies the audacious journey of the tree men, while also documenting the construction of the new forensic psychiatric hospital in Göttingen. The ambitious plans of the medical director and his fairytale-like security concept stand in contrast to, the outlaw-mission of the self-proclaimed psychiatry reformer. ‘A person can get sick just from living in these mental institutions’, believes Fischer, who has his own views about how society should care about the patients with a mental illness. At the same time, the Göttingen hospital grows, putting into practice a new vision of keeping patients secure inside its premises, by using a wide strip of vegetation, consisting mainly of barberries with long thorns, to secure all surrounding fences. The thorn bushes will reach up to 3-4 metres in height: Just like in Sleeping Beauty, except that, in this case, the Prince wants to get out, not in.

"Cuckoo's Nest" is organized in partnership with the Centre for Legal Resources, as part of the "Death Camps Next to You" campaign, funded through SEE 2009 - 2014 grants, part of NGO Fund in Romania. For official information about the SEE and Norwegian grants please access www.eeagrants.org.