Join us in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee for a wide-ranging programme of features, shorts and classic film exploring mental health through bold, imaginative and deeply personal cinema.
Essential to SMHAF since our very first festival in 2007, our International Film Awards celebrate outstanding cinema from Scotland, the UK and around the world. This year’s filmmakers join an illustrious list of past winners that includes Carla Simón, Orlando von Einsiedel and Mike Hoolboom, alongside major Scottish talents such as Duncan Cowles, Hannah Currie and Zinnie Harris.
Moving from raw, observational documentary to inspired, theatrical reenactments, our winning films approach complex life experiences with honesty, imagination and care. They explore trauma, addiction, displacement, institutionalisation, neurodivergence and suicide in the trans male community, while reclaiming personal stories, challenging stigma and pushing boundaries to express what can be difficult to put into words.
Maasja Ooms
Brian De Palma
Beyond the competition, we are delighted to bring a series of special screenings to cinemas across Scotland. Acclaimed British filmmaker Clio Barnard returns with the highly anticipated I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, weaving together five poignant stories of friendship, aspiration and the realities of the UK housing crisis. Special previews at Filmhouse and GFT play alongside the UK premiere of Thorntree, Edinburgh-based filmmaker Isaac Knights-Washbourn’s insightful portrait of Rowan Alba’s pioneering supported accommodation for alcohol-dependent men. We are also partnering with Hearing Voices Network Dundee to present My Word Against Mine, a revelatory documentary by Dutch filmmaker Maasja Ooms, at DCA.
As we reflect on SMHAF’s history, we have also been considering how the relationship between mental health and cinema has changed. Films have long shaped how we understand mental health problems, sometimes reinforcing harmful stereotypes, but also raising awareness, challenging stigma and allowing people to tell their stories in ways that are direct and immersive. We are excited to revisit two provocative landmark films, A Woman Under the Influence and Carrie, and explore in conversation what they have to say about mental health today.
Although the way we watch films has changed considerably over the last two decades, bringing people together in a cinema feels more important than ever. Post-screening discussions are at the heart of our film programme, offering space to sit with what we have seen, listen to different perspectives and open up the profound conversations that film can make possible.
