In 2005, Jeanne Marie Spicuzza – a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and spoken word artist originally from Milwaukee – went to a therapist. The woman put Spicuzza under hypnosis and, among other acts of abuse, "planted" tragedies into her mind that never really happened in her life. In doing this, she cultivated a prolonged, dysfunctional patient-therapist relationship.

After winning a court case against her therapist in 2006, Spicuzza decided to channel the harrowing experience into art and she wrote, produced, co-directed and starred in a psychological thriller called "The Scarapist."

The film portrays a novelist named Lana who is manipulated by her mentally unstable psychoanalyst. Through the film, Spicuzza hopes to raise awareness about therapist-patient abuse. According to the film's opening words, there are over one million survivors of therapist-patient abuse and more than eighty percent are women.

"It was one of the worst experiences of my life and I am still recovering," says Spicuzza. "When you trust someone to the extent that you trust a therapist, you do not expect them to not only betray you, but use your vulnerabilities against you."

The film was shot in Los Angeles and in Wisconsin at numerous locations, including Klode Park in Whitefish Bay, Hubbard Park in Shorewood (pictured below), Big Bend, Fox Point and Elkhorn.

It’s been almost exactly a year since the film screened at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre, so OnMilwaukee checked in with Spicuzza to find out how the film panned out and what she plans for the future.

OnMilwaukee: What’s happened with the film since we last spoke?

Jean Marie Spicuzza: It’s been amazing! "The Scarapist" enjoyed a world premiere at the L.A. Femme Film Festival.

The showing at the Oriental Theatre was really incredible. A number of the cast and crew, including my husband (composer Guy Hoffman) shared a Q&A with the audience. Fabulous time. One of the things I love about Milwaukee is the heartfelt support. It was to date one of my favorite screenings.

Has the film been nominated for any awards?

"The Scarapist" was an official selection at Weyauwega International Film Festival, too. Actor Michael Gull (Sweenie) was in attendance. Rex Sikes did a really nice write-up in his blog about it. I wish I could have been there. I was at "The Scarapist" screening and Q&A at Shattuck Cinemas in San Francisco East Bay. The entire theatrical release at Landmark Theatres with distributor XVIII Entertainment was inspiring. I was told we out-performed "Steve Jobs."

"The Scarapist" was trademarked and screened at the Berlinale European Film Market this past February, where it won the award for best picture from the Verein Deutscher Kritiker Und Filmemacher out of over 720 films. I've been in contact with Berlinale since that time.

My company, Seasons & a Muse, secured distributor Silver Streak Entertainment, with the help of consulting producer, Shari Hamrick, for our Video-on-Demand release in three countries, and are in talks with them for our next feature film, "Night Rain."

Are you pleased with the response to the film?

I like that audiences and critics are thrilled about "The Scarapist." Movies will see excitement from one or the other group, but not always both. The response to "The Scarapist" has been strong, overwhelmingly positive. It has freaked people out, too. It gets under the skin. The true story aspect makes it that much eerier.

What are your future plans / hopes for the film and / or other projects?

Seasons & a Muse is going to continue social media and other promotions for "The Scarapist," and work to negotiate foreign and DVD/Blu-ray distribution. We've received some offers that we're discussing, others that we ultimately didn't accept. It can be risky, but I think, if a filmmaker's intuition tells her or him that something isn't right, or that s/he can aim higher, it does honor to the film, and the filmmaker, to listen to that. It'll be interesting to see where "The Scarapist" goes from here.

My editor and co-director, Synthian Sharp, recently reminded me that "The Scarapist" is finished. Sometimes, like a mother with a child, it's hard to let go. That said, we've entered pre-production for "Night Rain," which recently ran a successful crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo and is now InDemand.

The title comes from my granddaughter, from whose name it translates from Japanese. There are some pretty awesome people involved, some from "The Scarapist," others are new heads. It's going to be a great production. Like "The Scarapist," "Night Rain" is a thriller, inspired by actual events. Some of the true crime elements took years to research. It'll be treated in a new way. I'm really excited. I'm blessed to be with the team working on it, truly. We're scouting locations and eyeing a fall start in Los Angeles.

What have you learned from this experience?

I'd like to add a bit of irony. When I first was inspired to shift from my M.A. studies in philosophy at UW-Milwaukee with Fabrizio Mondadori to making movies, particularly "Breath of God," a motion picture project based on the life of composer, artist, scientist and leader Hildegard von Bingen, I never dreamed it would take 20 years to reach this point. I've performed poetry internationally, studied screenwriting and acting, and learned hands-on producing and directing. I've lived a lot in my sixteen years in Los Angeles. I had originally thought that I'd stand primarily in front of the camera, not on all sides. In fact, the thought of doing so still makes me nervous, albeit in a good way. So, I've learned that, in a world of uncertainty, and in the interests of creativity, it's good to remain fluid. Not to know, but to discover. With every step. It helps us grow.