Epilepsy is a very complex condition, yet the way it is represented in many movies can be insensitive and far from authentic. Even today, film directors sometimes use outdated stereotypes about people with epilepsy and their seizures.
Throughout history, epilepsy has often been portrayed in troubling ways in stories, theatre and art, and that continues to happen in modern movies. Sometimes, seizures are cheaply used for plot twists. Rather than recognizing the human experience of people with epilepsy, seizures are ‘thrown in’ to movies for dramatic effect. Perhaps most insultingly, characters sometimes make casual remarks about ‘fits’ for comic effect.
Fortunately, there are several movies where characters with seizures are presented in realistic and authentic ways. Here are nine examples of movies about epilepsy, or where a character has the condition.
Related: 4 famous movie actors with epilepsy
9 movies about epilepsy
We have selected nine movies about epilepsy which represent the condition and people who have epilepsy in a realistic and authentic way. Most importantly, these characters are not defined by their epilepsy - it is just one part of who they are.
1. First, do no harm
This 1997 drama is a tough but honest portrayal of refractory epilepsy (where medication doesn’t stop seizures). Starring Meryl Streep, it follows the life of a mid-western family whose young son begins having seizures. The anti seizure medication (ASM) he is prescribed causes unpleasant side effects and don’t seem to stop his seizures. Lori, the boy’s mom, eventually discovers the ketogenic diet, which helps him regain seizure control.
2. Control
Control is a 2007 biopic of 1970s English rock band Joy Division and its singer Ian Curtis. Curtis had epilepsy, and his seizures are represented authentically in the film. Importantly, Curtis’s seizures are not used simply as plot twists - but instead as part of a portrayal of his whole person.
Recommended: The link between music and epilepsy
3. Electricity
Another English movie, 2014’s Electricity tells the story of a young woman with epilepsy who learns that her brother - who she thought had died - could be alive. She travels to London to try and find him, and the movie shows how her seizures and medication interact with her journey.
4. The Exploding Girl
This 2009 movie depicts the story of Ivy, a young college student who has juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and a summer when she returns home to Brooklyn. Again, this movie depicts life for someone with epilepsy in a realistic way - whether it’s taking medication, visiting the doctor, or simply going about her normal life.
5. Avatar: The Way of Water
This sequel to the original Avatar movie was one of 2022’s biggest box office hits. The story follows the Sully family, and has an intriguing subplot around their adopted daughter Kiri (voiced by Sigourney Weaver) who is diagnosed with epilepsy.
Documentary movies about epilepsy
There have been several powerful documentary movies about epilepsy including:
6. Seizing Hope: High Tech Journeys in Pediatric Epilepsy
This video follows four families of children with drug-resistant epilepsy as they explore new neurotechnologies for treatment.
7. Diagnosis epilepsy: now what
A free online documentary and informational film for parents whose children have been diagnosed with epilepsy.
8. Zach, a film about epilepsy
This documentary follows a day in the life of a child who has a form of severe epilepsy.
9. What's the time Mister Wolf?
This documentary movie about epilepsy focuses on members of an acting troupe who have epilepsy.
Improving representation in movies about epilepsy
Although epilepsy has traditionally been represented in negative ways in movies, the above list shows portrayals of the condition are improving.
And some people with epilepsy are even creating their own movies to educate others about the condition. Read about Epsy user and filmmaker Miles Levin, whose move Under the Lights portrays a character with seizures.
