Shane, battling social anxiety at a party, finds himself dissociating from his own body when social pressure pushes him to the brink, turning a simple gathering into a surreal escape from reality.
Director’s Vision for ‘Manic Man’
Manic Man is a personal story about social anxiety and dissociation that Fritz has been wanting to tell for years. Having always felt like an outsider, especially in social settings, Fritz wanted to depict an exact expression of what it feels like being overwhelmed and wanting to escape the pressures of the present moment. Fritz has told similar stories that deal with mental health, but with this 4 minute audiovisual piece, it’s never been more clear, concise, or as emotionally compact.
Manic Man is also a proof of concept for a feature film that tackles dissociative identity disorder juxtaposed to a character struggling to remember the events of a night where a murder occurred. This story, titled re:attachment, is currently being considered by Sundance for their 2025 Feature Development Track. Manic Man also uses state of the art VFX and cinematography format to immerse the audience further into the perspective of someone struggling with anxiety and dissociation.
