Empathy (2004)

Drama and documentary merge in this independent feature which uses the framework of a investigative report on psychoanalysis to explore not just psychology, but the nature of filmmaking and how films are perceived by their audience. Lia (Gigi Buffington) is a young actress and voice-over artist who is seeing an analyst who happens to be the subject of a documentary on the working methods of a handful of psychiatrists. As the film progresses, the primary focus shifts from the analysts to Lia, back to the analysts, and eventually stops along the way for a look at contemporary furniture design, and winds up with Lia hired to narrate the film about her own psychiatrist. Empathy was the first feature film from writer and director Amie Siegel, who previously distinguished herself as a poet.