Documentary: Leonardo Petralia, Argentina, 2021, 83m

Performance artist Celia works with rubbish her mother accumulates compulsively to develop a transformative creative project. Through documenting this journey of artistic expression and discovery, director Leonardo Petralia explores the intersection between art and life and its unexpected outcomes.

15+

This screening includes a virtual discussion with director Leonardo Petralia.

All of Me (the Possibility of Future Splendour) by Caroline Horton

Winner, Mental Health Fringe Award 2019

“Hello – I thought I’d introduce myself properly – As is polite.”

Written and performed by Olivier Award nominee Caroline Horton – this is an intimate and absurd exploration of wanting to live, wanting to die and what can happen if we sit together with the dark. Grudgingly hopeful, occasionally funny, Caroline reunites with director Alex Swift (Mess) to bring you an unapologetically dark show about dark things.

All of Me was the 2019 winner of the Mental Health Fringe Award, which is presented each year by the Mental Health Foundation in recognition of the Edinburgh Fringe show that most compellingly explores the subject of mental health.

Postponed for two years due to the pandemic, we are delighted to be partnering with the Tron Theatre in Glasgow to present All of Me at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.

“All of Me is one of the most extraordinary, brave, vivid and uncompromising portrayals of living with depression that I’ve ever seen, thanks to Caroline’s honesty about her experiences and also her refusal to sugar-coat them in any way.”

 

- Andrew Eaton-Lewis, Arts Lead, Mental Health Foundation

★★★★★ “Theatrically alive at every moment” The Independent
★★★★ “It’s messy… it’s beautiful” The Guardian
★★★★ “Phenomenal” Time Out

14+: Themes of suicide and depression, Nudity, Strong language

See Me Scotland presents work from a range of visual artists that encourage dialogue to end mental health stigma and discrimination.

Following another sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Angela Barnes is back with her brand new show Rose-Tinted. With stand up and stories, Angela is trying, really trying, to look on the bright side of life.

Follow an open-access walking route around the perimeters of Leverndale Hospital to view art displays created by the hospital community. Access a map of the walk and related activities on Facebook or by email. 

Participants are requested to follow Covid-19 guidance regarding travel and meeting with people outdoors. The route will be filmed and made available on Facebook for those unable to attend. 

#ArtfulMeander #MeanderForMentalHealth

Shorts: How can we better understand our unique realities?

We are members of the LGBTQ community who have come together in Glasgow to communicate about our experiences with mental health. This exhibition, in collaboration with LGBT Health and Wellbeing, explores what belonging looks like for us and why it is important. Come and take part in the conversation.

Please Note: This event has been cancelled.

40 (ish) sexy (ish), musical (ish), Bipolar (ish) - no she is definitely Bipolar. Australian singing sex-pot comedian Amanda Jane Pritchard tackles and tickles with songs and stories in this new show written specifically for this year's Festival. (Insert review). Oh hang on, there are some rather good reviews.

‘Amanda isn’t afraid of the dark corners. In fact, she tickles it until we all piss ourselves laughing!‘ – Nick @edfringe

‘OMFG !!!! This bitch is NUTS …… I could not stop laughing. Non Stop Brilliance A MUST SEE! – Terri @edfringe

‘This is one funny lady …. Amanda is the female answer to Kevin Bloody Wilson …… very funny, hilarious songs we were singing one on the train home lol . A Must See !‘ – Sally @edfringe

“I saw Amanda in Melbourne and fell in love” – Hamish (in Melbourne) via his friend Mark (in Edinburgh) on instagram

“@_amanda_jane you were FAB!” – Wendy Harmer, legendary Australian comedian, Broadcaster, ABC Sydney

The Changing Minds mental health group invite you to our drop-in session to tell you more about our group over tea and sandwiches. All in a safe space with a friendly group of people affected by mental health.

Nira Burstein, USA, 2021, 78m, Scottish Premiere

Charm Circle is a cinéma vérité portrait of an eccentric New York family navigating the chaos that divides them.

After uncovering a treasure trove of home videos documenting the moments of joy that punctuated an otherwise tumultuous upbringing, filmmaker Nira Burstein returns to her childhood home—now crumbling from the inside out—to explore whether she and her two sisters can reconnect with her parents.

This screening will include an in-person Q&A with director Nira Burstein. 

15+: References to self-harm, suicidal ideation and psychosis

Includes An Open Door, winner of the Community Award at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers and documentary subjects, including An Open Door director Aoise Tutty. 

At Leverndale, we connect meaningfully in creative pursuits with community partners, volunteers and artists to produce hopeful, meaningful and interesting collaborative art. This year’s event celebrates how we connect to art and how art connects us to others and our environment.

A day of discussions, presentations and workshops that consider, question and reflect upon failure.

Includes Model Childhood, winner of Best Personal Narrative, and Asylum, winner of the Voices of Experience Award, at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Q&A with fillmmakers, including Tim Mercier and Jefta Varwijk. 

Design On The Inside is back in Glasgow. This time, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, DOTI North is focusing on service design for mental health.

Today, mental health problems cause a bigger impact than tuberculosis, cancer, or heart disease. The world is standing up to take on the challenge of designing products and services that address the growing issue of mental health and wellbeing. We will discuss how service providers and charitable organisations in Scotland are using design within their organisations to address their Mental Health challenges.

We are thrilled to have a fantastic lineup of speakers, so far they include:

Trevor Lakey - Health Improvement and Inequalities Manager at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | @SyneDrum
Mark MacMillan - Head of Corporate Services at Kibble
Anne Dhir - Project Director at Snook | @brightkaos

We will also hear from a mother who will share her personal experience of supporting a child through mental health services around the UK.

We look forward to seeing you on May 17th for a morning of discussion, networking and learnings.

Featuring I Love You, Best Short Drama winner at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Q&A with fillmmakers, including Victoria Thompson.

On The Sidelines explores the experiences of new fathers in Scotland, as they navigate the journey into parenthood during an unprecedented global pandemic.

by Wildcard Theatre

Winner, Mental Health Fringe Award 2018

‘We are a blip. A speck of dust.
To be wiped off the face of time
like you might a bike chain's rust.
But to each of us,
we are everything'

Follow Jessie through gigs, parties, city streets and warehouses, journeying from Leeds to London, on a quest to find her mother.

Electrolyte is a multi-award winning piece of gig theatre that powerfully explores mental health for a contemporary audience. Written in spoken word poetry and underscored by original music ranging from “blasts of sound to lyrical sweetness” (★★★★★ The Scotsman), this exhilarating and powerful show is performed by six multi-instrumentalists who seamlessly integrate live music with expert storytelling.

Electrolyte won the 2018 Mental Health Fringe Award, a prize founded by the Mental Health Foundation in recognition of the most outstanding show exploring mental health at the Edinburgh Fringe. It also won The Stepladder Award, The LET Award, The Voice Mag Pick of The Fringe Award and the Pleasance Best Newcomer Award 2018. 

We are delighted to welcome Electrolyte back to Scotland for a week of dates as part of a two-month tour of the UK and Ireland, also supported by the Mental Health Foundation.

Electrolyte’s dates at the Tron Theatre are presented in association with Mayfesto.

There will be post-show discussions on Tuesday 14 May and Wednesday 15 May.

Hear the cast and crew talk about mental health and the making of the production in this video.

An informal work in progress sharing of Epic Fail, the latest performance from SMHAF Associate Artist Emma Jayne Park. You are invited to laugh, applaud, support and commiserate with a group of highly skilled performers who are destined to fail!

Followed by a discussion by Claire Coia and Tony Lewis from the Open Museum and Dr Cheryl McGeachan from the University of Glasgow about the Art Extraordinary collection and Scottish outsider art. 

Winner of the Anti-Stigma Award at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Skype Q&A with Orlando von Einsiedel.

What are children communicating about their inner worlds through mess, slime and potions? We explore mess making, presenting case studies and exploring attachment theory through our current work with children and young people in our Kinnections programme. Led by Drama Therapist Sarah Bradley and Art Therapist Liz Young.

Aimed at engaging young minds in mental health matters, these short films explore wellbeing, worries and emotions in creative and colourful ways.

Shorts: Our family experiences can have a major impact on our mental health, for better or for worse.

SMHAF is delighted to be supporting the Scotland-wide release of Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes, with Q&As at CCA, Filmhouse, An Lanntair and Eden Court, and screenings across the country. 

SMHAF is delighted to be supporting the Scotland-wide release of Final Ascent: The Legend of Hamish MacInnes, including hosting discussions with director Robbie Fraser at CCA, Filmhouse, An Lanntair and Eden Court.

SMHAF 2022 opens with a day to celebrate and bring together our festival community. 

Short film screening exploring healing in the context of cultural identity and migration, followed by a conversation over food provided by Milk Cafe, curated by Theo Panagopoulos. 

A short film screening at the CCA, exploring how we can reimagine the future to make room for healing.

A multidisciplinary performance exploring grief by Jassy Earl and Chloë Smith.

Created by Luke Pell and performed by an eclectic group of dance and performance artists with original music, In the Ink Dark collects and explores different people’s experiences of loss through dance, design and poetry.

Join us for our annual awards ceremony at the CCA, as we honour the very best submissions to our international film competition.

Gather at the CCA for our annual International Film Awards, hosted by Adura Onashile. Followed by a reception at Saramago Café Bar.

Winner of the Best Feature Documentary award at SMHAF 2019. The screening is followed by a Q&A with director Iain Cunningham, Catharine Carver from Action on Postpartum Psychosis and Clare Thompson from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.

Virginija Vareikyte and Maximilien Dejoie, Lithuania, 2021, 72m, UK Premiere

Documentary: Two women, a psychologist and a police officer, embark on a challenging mission to reduce the record suicide numbers in their rural hometown. Through empathy, compassion and resourcefulness, Valija and Gintare support the loneliest members of their community, showing how effective suicide prevention can be.

This screening includes an in-person discussion with co-directors Virginija Vareikyte and Maximilien Dejoie, protagonist Valija Šap, and Danielle Rowley from Samaritans Scotland.

Mitchell Cushman, Canada, 2021, 97m, International Premiere

Documentary: Adapted from the award-winning live theatrical memoir, this innovative documentary-dramatic hybrid uses piano tuning as a storytelling device to destigmatise and humanise mental illness. It examines the personal stories of musician James Smith and his three older brothers as they navigate living with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

15+: Themes of suicide, suicidal ideation, psychosis and violence

This screening includes a virtual discussion with director Mitchell Cushman.

This interactive workshop has been designed by KIN, an arts collective of young people aged 14-25 years old who have experience of having a family member in prison. It explores issues of family imprisonment through a variety of creative exercises and role play. Booking essential.

A compelling tale of love, dedication and dependence, this intimate documentary focuses on the dysfunctional relationship between a filmmaker and his mentally ill mother.

Shorts: This eclectic selection showcases titles in various genres and styles by talented filmmakers based in Scotland.

Artist Emily Furneaux speaks to Davey Shields of MenTalkHealth about her festival project She stepped backwards in front of the words behind her, in relation to the wider components of understanding and navigating personal experiences of mental health.

Fun, inclusive drumming sessions focused on mental health and wellbeing. Come along for the chance to meet new people and create music together. Sessions are led by Ghanaian musician Gameli Tordzro and a team of professionally trained music practitioners.

Structural violence leads to personal trauma in this intimate documentary, which tells the story of a single family living in one of Rio’s largest favelas.

A multi-arts event bringing together the asylum seeker and refugee community in a celebration of storytelling and community. Our programme involves a wealth of people sharing photography, dance, music, poetry and more. Delicious vegan food will be on offer too.

Come along to Kelvingrove Museum to experience a family-friendly day of celebration, with events exploring diversity, mental wellbeing and this year’s festival theme of Connected.

Discover the new exhibition by Logie Evans Teush who creates captivating three dimensional artworks combining hand crafted ceramics with found, upcycled objects. His surreal and fantastical work is the stuff of dreams (and perhaps, occasionally, nightmares).

Working on a large scale, Logie’s sculptures are complex, intricate and intriguing – influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and M.C. Escher, Logie’s work has a psychedelic slant. Built primarily for his own amusement, we are pleased to offer a rare opportunity to view this magical collection in a public gallery.

Explaining the title of the exhibition, Logie said, “I was re-diagnosed as naturally eccentric in 2002”.

New and hard-hitting verbatim play that explores how childhood experiences shape men’s adult lives.

An evening of music, dance and poetry exploring how the arts contribute to our mental health. Paragon's artists will share original new works reflecting on mental health, stigma, recovery and creativity.

Join us for an evening filled with music, comedy, poetry and connectedness. Performers, turn up on the night with your instruments and a song in your heart. All welcome.

Includes On Exile, fragments in search of meaning, winner of Best Experimental Film at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Q&A with On Exile director José Carlos Teixeira.

UK Premiere

Veronika Raila can neither walk nor speak yet invites us into her captivating world in this poetic essay film.

Includes Herman Brown is Feeling Down, winner of Best Animation at SMHAF 2019. Followed by a Q&A with Jacob Topen, Clark Alexander, Kirsty Strain, Steven Fraser, Sophia Carr-Gomm, Gordon Collins, Linda McDonald Cairns and Dan Castro.

A participatory artwork in the form of an audio tour in the city of Glasgow conjuring artist Emily Furneaux’s own experiences of slipping into a state of psychosis. Map and audio available to collect throughout the festival. On the final day, live happenings and occurrences will be integrated within the tour.

The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival returns to the CCA for its annual film programme. Join us for our International Film Awards, followed by a weekend of screenings, discussions and workshops.

Hosted by Ian Rankin 

Music by Emma Pollock

The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s Writing Awards, in partnership with Bipolar Scotland, is one of SMHAF’s most enduring successes. An opportunity for first time writers to be published alongside established names, the ceremony is often where we discover what our festival is really about, as writers from across Scotland and further afield take inspiration from this year’s theme in poignant, powerful, personal and often ingenious and surprising ways.

This year the evening is hosted by best-selling author Ian Rankin and will open with a short set by one of Scotland’s top singer-songwriters, Emma Pollock. Our ten shortlisted writers will read from their work, before the awards presentation and a drinks reception.

The SMHAF Writing Awards will also see the launch of 70 Stories, a year-long project to mark the 70th anniversary of the Mental Health Foundation. 70 Stories will connect pieces from our writing competition, stories from the first 13 years of SMHAF, and more to create a compelling portrait of mental health in 2019.

Followed by a conversation with Paul Michael Henry, Angie Dight  of Mischief La Bas and Dr Amy Chandler of the University of Edinburgh.

How can we tell the stories of our body through filmmaking?

Drama: Chrisophe Hermans, Belgium, France, 2021, 81m, UK Premiere

Teenage sisters Marion, Claire and Louise grapple with the ups and downs of caring for their mother’s bipolar disorder and the consequences this has for their independence. A tender and poignant first feature which hones in on the acute challenges of supporting a parent living with mental illness.

The screening will be followed by a conversation between Dr Pamela Jenkins from Mental Health Foundation Scotland, and Dympna Cunnane from Our Time, a charity supporting children of parents with a mental illness.

18+: Themes of suicide and self-harm, Sexual references

Features two award winners at SMHAF 2019, for Best Mid-length Documentary and Best Short Documentary. Followed by a Q&A with We Are All Here director Hannah Currie and clinical psychologist Dr Simon Stuart. 

The Necessary Space presents Sean Daniels’ hilarious, uplifting and honest rollercoaster ride through the minefields of addiction in the world of theatre.

TRACE explores the long-term impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, particularly on mental health. Using puppets, it tells a story of the child's incomprehension, the impact of survival and tracing back through memories to untangle their impact. This work-in-progress will showcase short clips from the show and be followed by a discussion with creator Abi Pirani. For ages 16+.

A devising solo-aerial theatre performance reimagining Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night through the eyes of Viola, this piece blends contemporary circus, dance and theatre with music and engaging multimedia to investigate depression, anxiety and isolation with movement.

An opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation in a quiet space with some of our award-winning filmmakers: Iain Cunningham, Hannah Currie, Victoria Thompson, José Carlos Teixeira and Aoise Tutty.

An Open Aye guided woodland photo walk, using the principles of Shinrin Yoku, or Forest Bathing. Try new photography techniques to explore creativity, the mind, and the great outdoors, sharing tea and healthy snacks under the trees. All abilities welcome. Booking essential.

Wellbeing of the Woods (WOW) is run by Open Aye, specialists in participatory photography projects. The workshops are sponsored and supported by Scottish Forestry.

The WOW project shows that everyone can benefit from being creative in a woodland environment. Taking photos in nature enables us to see things differently, makes us slow down, asks us to pay attention to our senses and encourages us to really appreciate our surroundings. Photo walking in the woods is a gentle activity, open to all and it’s free. It will relax and invigorate in equal measure. A great thing to do in the woods, whatever the weather!

Visit www.eco-ayes.co.uk for more information.

This feel good woodland photo walk will take notice of spring beginnings, capturing beautiful blossoms and tree canopies. Try new techniques to explore creativity, the mind and the great outdoors, sharing tea and healthy treats under the trees. You can use our weatherproof cameras but feel free to bring your own equipment. All abilities welcome. Booking essential. 

This event is being provided in partnership with Scottish Forestry (formerly Forestry Commission Scotland) and Open Aye.

The Wellbeing Of the Woods Project (The WOW Project) has been running wellbeing-enhancing, urban forest based participatory photography workshops, to diverse groups in Glasgow across the seasons in 2017 -2019. Over 50 people from 16 countries have taken part so far. This exhibition showcases some of the thoughts and ideas from participants on how creativity in the woods aids wellbeing.

Provided in partnership with Scottish Forestry (formerly Forestry Commission Scotland) and Open Aye.

Shorts: What happens to people at crisis point when they are faced with a lack of care and support in society, due to issues like inadequate psychiatric care, poverty, racism and discrimination?

Drama: Jonas Bak, Germany, France, Hong Kong, 2021, 73m, Scottish Premiere

As Anke enters retirement, a mother leaves behind her solitary life in rural Germany and memories of a once perfect family life and travels to protest-ridden Hong Kong, a place that has kept her son away from her for many years. Through her travels and casual exchanges with strangers Anke begins to settle into a new chapter of her life.

Jonas Bak’s first feature is an atmospheric feat that perfectly encapsulates isolation and loneliness while leaving space for exploration and hopefulness.

This screening takes place in partnership with Goethe Institute and includes an in-person Q&A with director Jonas Bak and producer Charlotte Lelong. It takes place during Mental Health Awareness Week, from 9-15 May, which this year explores the theme of Loneliness.

12+

Come along to our friendly writers’ café, hosted by an experienced facilitator. Try some writing exercises and share your work in a supportive space. Aimed at anyone with an interest in creative writing, particularly those who have previously entered our competition.

The Writing Awards, held in partnership with Bipolar Scotland, is one of SMHAF’s most enduring successes.

Public Health Scotland host this screening and discussion, showcasing a series of films created during lockdown.