MUSEUM OF MADNESS

MUZEJ NOROSTI

⟩⟩⟩ watch the movie (in Slovene)

30 years ago, a movement for abolishing asylums began in Slovenia. So far, only the unit at Cmurek Castle in Trate was closed in 2004. Medieval castles all over the country are still accepted as homes for large social welfare institutions. More than 4,000 people still live in similar institutions in Slovenia. However the activists from 80s are still fighting for the change.

The film exposes stories of the former psychiatric hospital, its employees and patients, but also follows the story of a couple on the way out from the social welfare institution Hrastovec. Touchy personal tragedies point to thin line between madness and normality.

Bucolic countryside along the Slovenian - Austrian border has attracted poets, writers, anthropologists and even punk-rockers. By the efforts of local residents a part of the abandoned castle was transformed into the Museum of Madness, a participatory museum that presents a difficult heritage.