Director and producer Neil Berkeley said he got to know comedian Maria Bamford on a personal level while filming “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday evening.  In fact, he said knowing Bamford is similar to how talk show hos t and comedian Conan O’Brien describes her. O’Brien is one of many comedians who appear in the documentary. “It’s like talking to a lobster whose shell has been removed,” O’Brien said in the film. It’s for a combination of reasons, but mostly because of Bamford’s rawness. As a comedian, Bamford has never been one to hold back. As a person, she seems to be just as vulnerable with issues such as mental health and relationships.  “I think she’ll love that description of herself,” Berkeley said. “She’s one of those people, and it’s super cliché, but you would never know she’s famous and has a rabid fanbase when you meet her. She’s very shy, she’s very sweet.” Berkeley is an Emmy-nominated director known for documentaries including “Gilbert,” “Beauty is Embarrassing” and “Harmontown.” Working alongside comedic, Emmy-winning director Judd Apatow, the pair followed Bamford around for three years to create “The Maria Bamford Story.” While three years sounds like a long time in today’s standards, Berkeley said that’s how he has made every movie. With “The Maria Bamford Story,” filming began on day one, when Apatow and Berkeley arrived at Bamford’s home with their proposal to shoot the documentary about her life.  Berkeley, ready with a camera, and Apatow, supplied with a selection of fruit and a few hundred dollars for Bamford, convinced the comedian to participate. Familiar with Bamford from the 2016 sitcom “Lady Dynamite,” which appeared on Netflix, Berkeley had been a fan of his subject for years. He knew her comedy — a raw, unhindered and unfiltered type of show that involves voices and impressions — and he knew that she attracts a very loyal audience.  As they filmed, Berkeley said he saw beyond the Bamford that was typical of Netflix and her stage.  The comedian, who speaks openly about her mental health, has dealt with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar II disorder. Bamford’s personal cocktail of mental illness offers up a less-than-delightful combination of symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, periods of extreme lows and hypomania, which are periods of heightened energy and emotions.  “The Maria Bamford Story” follows Bamford’s journey through discovering her own ticks, quirks and pitfalls. It shows her discovering suicidal moods as a child in Duluth, Minnesota, and developing further symptoms later in life, but it also shows how she worked steadily through her tougher moments. Through all of Bamford’s high highs and depressive lows, the constant is her comedy and her resilience — her ability to simply carry on.  “I knew she had a breakdown. I didn’t know the severity of it. I didn’t know that she’d been to the hospital that many times. And I think that’s part of the beauty of these kinds of movies, and what she does is she takes her real life and she brings it to the stage and she makes jokes about it,” Berkeley said.  That’s one of the most important aspects of the film for both Berkeley and Apatow: the comedy. Both directors said that’s the one aspect of Bamford’s life they sought to continually highlight. Because, Berkeley said, Bamford has a joke for every breakdown, every intrusive thought and suicidal ideation.  “I think that’s where the empathy starts. … But I think what’s interesting about these movies is, when you hear a joke, it sort of takes the sting out a little bit. So to hear the joke, but also hear the real story, because comedians get asked all the time: Did that really happen?” Berkeley said.  For Bamford, it all happened. The hospital. The breakdown. The suicidal thoughts. The intrusive thoughts. The eating disorders. To be able to have those real, honest stories and talk about them in a vulnerable way is powerful, Berkeley said.  The comedy, he said, is a great compliment to Bamford’s storyline. But Apatow also said it was a must-have. It is a film about a stand-up comedian, after all. Berkeley said alternating between Bamford’s storyline and her storytelling through stand-up was a way to let the audience breathe.  Berkeley said part of the beauty of filming “The Maria Bamford Story” was his and Apatow’s ability to film with few restrictions. Berkeley, who has stuck with independent filmmaking throughout his career, said he thinks it was the right way to tell Bamford’s story.  The goal for Berkeley was to make a film that’s worth watching. The pair let jokes play out, they let the storyline “breathe,” they let Bamford be herself.  “For Judd, I think it was empowering. I think he got to the point where he’s making like eight movies right now. … And I think he feels like ‘This is how I should do it,’” Berkeley said.  Berkeley said he saw that same feeling of empowerment in Bamford who, later in life, began practicing her stand-up for strangers in coffee shops. In fact, Bamford pays those strangers to sit and listen to her stand-up. It’s how she rehearses her set. But, Bamford can also be seen performing 8 a.m. shows at her local clown theater in Altadena, California.  She does what she wants, it’s part of what makes her so relatable, Berkeley said. But Bamford’s relatability also comes from her comedy and her vulnerability. “We see something in ourselves in these comedians, in these jokes they tell,” Berkeley said. “There’s a relief in hearing someone else say these things out loud.” “The Maria Bamford Story” is Berkeley’s Sundance Film Festival debut. The film premiered at The Ray Theatre in Park City on Thursday. ‘Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story’ in-person screenings 1:10 p.m., Jan. 23, Megaplex Redstone 2 11 a.m., Jan. 24, Rose Wagner Center 2:45 p.m., Jan. 29, Eccles Theatre 5 p.m., Jan. 31, Megaplex Redstone 3 The post Neil Berkeley’s Sundance debut ‘Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story’ is comedically vulnerable appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less