Filmmaker Suki Hawley recently directed and edited the documentary feature “Who Took Johnny,” which chronicles a mother’s tenacious fight to find out what happened to her son, Johnny Gosch, the first kid on the back of a milk carton. Prior, she directed and edited the documentary feature “Battle for Brooklyn,” which was short-listed for an Academy Award in 2012. Her other credits include “Miami Manhunt,” “Horns and Halos,” and “Radiation.”

“All the Rage” will premiere at the 2016 DOC NYC film festival on November 11. The film is co-directed by Michael Galinsky and David Beilinson.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

SH: We started making “All the Rage” because my husband and co-director Michael’s father. He read Dr. John Sarno’s book “Healing Back Pain” and was cured of the chronic pain he suffered for years. The book, which connects pain with emotions rather than structural causes, puts Sarno directly at odds with the medical system. Twenty years after his father’s experience, my husband was immobilized by excruciating back pain. He saw Dr. Sarno in his office and was put on the path towards healing.

Thus began a 12-year odyssey to make this personal narrative that weaves together Michael’s and our family’s personal story of healing with the story of Dr. Sarno and his work. Though dismissed by peers, Sarno’s work changed the lives of millions, including luminaries like Howard Stern and Larry David.

Dr. Sarno radically predicted that the medical system’s disregard for the true cause of chronic pain — repressed emotions — would lead to an epidemic. Unfortunately, he was right. Pain is the great health care cost in America by far. This film is an attempt to articulate the human side of pain and emotion along with the story of Dr. Sarno’s work and career, connecting the audience to both the issues and the emotions at play.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

SH: For me as a filmmaker, exposing how what we see as established norms in medicine can really impact the entire culture was very exciting. For many years, I have focused on stories about people who are fighting for something they believe in — usually against forces of the establishment that are trying to stop them. The story of Dr. Sarno going up against the medical system is no different.

For 50 years, he practiced medicine in the basement of NYU Medical Center in almost total isolation because his theory of the cause of most pain — emotions — was so antithetical to established science of the time. The medical system now grapples with a pain epidemic that is completely out of control, as well as an opioid abuse epidemic this pain has spawned. But [a paradigm shift in science is occurring,] and medical studies are now coming to support Dr. Sarno’s hypothesis. Even at age 92, this is very gratifying for him — as well as for us as filmmakers.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

SH: I would be so happy if people left the theater considering the way they view the world, and the way in which unconscious cultural preconceptions influence our lives. Also, more specifically, I would love if people consider one simple idea: that the mind and the body are intimately connected.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

SH: After shooting for two years in the early 2000’s, we found that it was incredibly difficult to make this film. People in general couldn’t wrap their minds around the idea that emotions could cause pain, and funding organizations were no different. We couldn’t see how to continue, and actually ran out of funds.

Four years later, after having banished his back pain for over 10 years, Michael’s pain came back with a vengeance. It was at this point in 2011 when we saw an opportunity and felt a responsibility to get the word out about Dr. Sarno and his theories.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

SH: While Dr. Sarno’s ideas are very controversial with the mainstream, he does have a large and dedicated following thanks to the success of his best-selling books on back pain. Hundreds of people have said his books changed their lives. Because of this following, “All the Rage” was very successful as a crowdsourced film. The opposite goes without saying: Because of his controversial theories within the system, we had a harder time with granting agencies and studios.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at DOC NYC?

SH: We love having the film premiere at a documentary-focused film festival of such high caliber. It’s wonderful to have the film play in NYC where our main characters worked so hard for so many years, and where most of our colleagues are!

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

SH: When starting to make our very first film in 1995, I asked for advice from a fellow filmmaker who had just successfully finished his own feature film. His was probably the worst advice: “Don’t do it.” I did anyway.

The best advice I got was from my mentor in college, Jeanine Basinger, who told me to watch movies and play drums. I did both and feel they were great benefits to a medium based on rhythm and pacing.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

SH: Don’t take no for an answer: There’s always a way around “no.” Also, watch movies — even the bad ones.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

SH: “Decline of Western Civilization” by Penelope Spheeris. The film had a huge impact on me because of the way it documented the music world. It used the perfect vantage point: The music is engagingly recorded while the interviews are in depth, but detached enough to show a real human side to people who are trying to be just the opposite.

W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?

SH: Just like with Dr. Sarno, only when we challenge established norms in society for a long time can we really impact the way we as a culture view the world. But I think the scales have fallen from many eyes and will continue to do so over the coming couple of years. In order to get more opportunities for women to direct, there has to be a real focused dedication to making that happen.