The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival is pleased to announce its Official Selection films for 2018. The titles listed below will screen at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) from 11-13 May. View the screening programmes and book tickets using the links provided. 

The award-winning titles from our International Film Competition will be honoured at the International Film Awards on the evening of Thursday 10 May. Tickets for this event, which will also reveal the winner of the Grand Jury Prize, can be booked here.

 

#will

Scottish Premiere

Per Sundström | Sweden | 2017 | 22m

A teenage vlogger battles with online harassment and bullying, as well as pervasive suicidal thoughts.

Screening with Horizon | Book Here

 

Being Keegan

Short Drama Award Winner

Scottish Premiere

Stephanie Zari | UK | 2017 | 25m

A naval officer returns to his childhood home in Liverpool and the scene of a traumatic incident from his youth.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

below the neck, above the knees

Experimental Award Winner

Desiree Dawn Kapler | USA | 2017 | 12m

A filmmaker shares diaristic stories from her life, contemplating her community’s experiences with bodily trauma.

Embodied Trauma | Book Here

 

Blue

International Premiere

Rosie Westhoff | Australia | 2017 | 3m

Insomnia and unrelenting silence lurk in the depths of a young woman’s day-to-day reality.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Bridge

World Premiere

Iain Robertson | UK | 2018 | 10m

Written by Donna Franceschild, Iain Robertson’s Glasgow-set debut film focuses on a chance encounter between two strangers.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

Bulldoze

UK Premiere

Jake Earwaker | UK | 2017 | 7m

Through vivid puppetry, this short highlights the ways in which mental health can affect us all.

Youth Perspective | Book Here

 

Bullying and Behaviour

Yasuhiro Tamura | Japan | 2017 | 6m

After being assaulted by a troop of bullies on rooftop, a teenage boy abruptly starts dancing.

Experimental Shorts | Book Now

 

But Honey, You Look Fine

Youth Perspective Award Winner

World Premiere

Jennifer Leonforte | Australia | 2017 | 10m 

Short documentary about a young woman living with bulimia, which also examines the social conditioning that caused it to develop in the first place.

Youth Perspective | Book Here

 

Cold

Scottish Premiere

Sven Niemeyer | Germany | 2017 | 6m

Dance cinema portraying a suffering mother who is unable to feel love for her child.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Cotton Wool

Scottish Premiere

Nicholas Connor | UK | 2017 | 38m

A teenager and her seven-year-old brother must rapidly adapt to the role of young carers when their mother suffers a devastating stroke.

Youth Perspective | Book Here

 

Crazy

Documentary Award Winner

Scottish Premiere

Lise Zumwalt | USA | 2016 | 60m

A man living with schizophrenia comes into conflict with the healthcare system as he attempts to exercise control over his treatment.

Book Here

 

Horizon

Drama Award Winner

UK Premiere

Giancarlo Sanchez | Netherlands | 2016 | 49m

A grieving teenager struggles to control her anger while preparing for a diving competition.

Book Here

 

Hourglass

Fraser Pemberton | Australia | 2017 | 13m

A woman plagued by the memory of her mother’s suicide meets a cryptic stranger.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

I Am Emmanuel

Genevieve Clay-Smith | Australia | 2014 | 20m

A 21-year-old Sudanese refugee struggles to leave the past behind despite starting a new life in Australia. 

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Laura’s Journey

Matteo Born | Switzerland | 2018 | 56m

A documentarian follows his friend as she revisits Morocco and the scene of her trauma in an attempt to heal her psychological wounds.

Embodied Trauma | Book Here

 

Lou Bëth Xayma

Voices of Experience Award Winner

Piniang, Abdoulaye Armin Kane & Sébastien Demeffe | Belgium | 2015 | 14m

Using stop motion techniques, artists at a Senegalese psychiatric clinic explore their experiences with art therapy.

International Shorts | Book Here

 

Mangoes

Sofia Auza | Canada | 2017 | 4m

A queer cinematic collaboration between Canadian spoken word artist Andrew Warner and Mexican writer-director Sofia Auza.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Maybe It’s Me

Animation Award Winner

Dimitris Simou | UK | 2017 | 6m

An animator reconstructs images from his past, revealing his love for his grandfather and the unreliability of memory.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

Riding Through the Dark

Community Award Winner

Katrina Brown | UK | 2017 | 17m

Elite and non-elite cyclists tell of the demons they encounter as they ride through mental and physical darkness.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

Rocknrollers

Short Documentary Award Winner

Daan Bol | Netherlands | 2016 | 24m 

A young singer is supported through his depression by his two best friends – his bandmates.

International Shorts | Book Here

 

Sanctioned

Personal Narrative Award Winner

Dominique Murphy – de Neef | UK | 2017 | 9m

After a sexual assault, a young woman uses life modelling to re-examine her relationship with her body.

Embodied Trauma | Book Here

 

Scope

UK Premiere

Richard Keaney | Ireland | 2017 | 18m

When a young man drops out of college to care for his agoraphobic mother, he finds himself insulated from the outside world.

International Shorts | Book Here

 

Second Spring

Scottish Premiere

Andy Kelleher | UK | 2017 | 84m

After receiving a rare diagnosis, a woman leaves the safety of her marriage for a man she barely knows.

Book Here

 

The Silent Glow: Recovering the Present

International Premiere

Anja Krug-Metzinger | Germany | 2017 | 88m

Amidst rising concerns about young people’s mental health, this timely and insightful documentary reveals the impact that mindfulness training is having on children and teenagers in educational settings across Europe.

Book Here

 

Tonic of the Sea

Jonathan J Scott | UK | 2017 | 8m

A mini-documentary about one woman’s experiences with mental health and sea swimming.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

Trying to Find Me

Dominique Tipper | UK | 2017 | 5m

A woman dissects and shares her inner self in an attempt to navigate her way through depression.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Uncle Ivon

UK Premiere

Wei Kang Chou | France | 2017 | 21m

A teenager’s imaginary friend is not only a way of escaping from loneliness but a tool to revolt against others.

Experimental Shorts | Book Here

 

Up & Down

Scottish Premiere

Malika Jmel | France | 2017 | 15m | Drama

A young woman living with bipolar struggles to cope when a group of youngsters arrive to play football in front of her building.

International Shorts | Book Here

 

Waterbabies

Scottish Premiere

Andy Mark Simpson | UK | 2017 | 11m | Drama

Magical realist drama about a lonely 15-year-old girl who starts baptising children in the local river.

UK Shorts | Book Here

 

You Didn’t Forget

UK Premiere

Simon Intihar | Slovenia | 2016 | 14m | Drama

An elderly woman’s day is turned upside down when she sets out to find her missing husband, who has been struggling with memory loss.

International Shorts | Book Here