International Film Awards (2011)
Fifteen films were selected to receive an award at the fifth annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.
The festival’s international film submission saw over 100 entries from Australia, the US, Canada and Europe as well as community groups, students and industry professionals based in Scotland.
This year’s winning films explored issues ranging from depression to homelessness, Down’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and dementia.
The filmmakers received their awards at the Film Awards Ceremony at Edinburgh Filmhouse on Monday 24 October, where clips of the winning films were screened.
Jury Prize
Day by Day
Ben Brand (Netherlands, 2010) 10m
From the Netherlands, Day by Day is a compelling account of a young woman called Meike whose relationship with her father Frank is affected by the older man’s experience of dementia.
The judges chose Day By Day because it was a beautifully made production, but one which deals with real sensitivity to the many issues which can come out of mental illness in a family unit, with well-observed performances helping to create a powerful but uncontrived sense of drama.
In particular, judges felt that the film was very touching and moving but in subtle ways. It felt that it portrayed dementia in a sympathetic way. Rather than the focus being solely on how difficult dementia can be on carers and family, it shows the strong bond and joy between family, even when times are difficult.
Cinematography, light and sound all add to the subtle yet dramatic scenes that develop throughout the film.
Award Winners
Drama
Winner
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Bartosz Kruhlik
Poland, 2011
12m
http:// is a harrowing account of a fictional act of bullying. A practical joke between three boys, playing with a video camera in the woods, leads to a traumatic incident. Made in Poland, http:// is a powerful story about how bullying can affect a young person’s mind, and makes a strong case for consideration of others.
Drama
Highly Commended
James Dean
Asten Holmes-Elliott
UK, 2011
8m
Taking its title from the famous 1950’s rebel icon, James Dean is a short film from Glasgow’s Diversity Films, and tackles gender issues head-on in a simple story about a family embarking on a trip in their car. James Dean offers a positive take on the issues involved in transgender identity. The film was written and directed by Asten Holmes-Elliot.
First Person Narrative
Winner
Crooked Beauty
Ken Paul Rosenthal
USA, 2010
30m
A dynamic piece of non-narrative cinema, Crooked Beauty is a striking meditation on life through the eyes of arts activist Jacks McNamara, a San Francisco Bay area resident who, through positive thinking, progressed from a psychiatric ward to become a mental health advocate. McNamara’s willingness to embrace inner madness to unlock creativity makes for a controversial, but stimulating watch for mental health professionals, but also for anyone interested in how the human spirit can survive.
First Person Narrative
Highly Commended
Burning Blossom
Kathryn Threlkeld
USA, 2010
20m
Directed by Kathryn Threlkeld, Burning Blossom is a deeply personal account of the director’s struggle with mental illness. From 2009, Threlkeld suffered from a major depressive disorder, and through her own video-diary, managed to keep a revealing and often beautiful documentary record of her fight to keep herself together mentally.
Short Documentary
Winner
Hang on the Bell, Nellie
Felix Gilfedder
Taking its title from a 1940’s song, Hang On the Bell, Nellie is a moving mixture of documentary and animation, depicting one woman’s remarkable comeback to overcome depression in later life. In Greenock, Nell is known as the life and soul of the community, but in this film, she reveals how she uses her busy life to stave off unhappiness, providing an inspiration to those around her in the process.
Short Documentary
Highly Commended
Bringing The Outside In
Fabio Gomes
UK, 2010
An original project in which a stand-up comedian was invited into UK jails to challenge mental health stigma among prisoners is documented in this video from charity Southside Partnership, funded by a grant from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. John Ryan, a white comic from Hackney, East London spent time with black and ethnic minority focus groups, encouraging them to think about their own mental health issues through humour and self-expression.
Long Documentary
Winner
The Octopus
Laetitia Carton
France, 2009
89m
A rare treatment of issues connected to Huntington’s disease, writer/director Lætitia Carton’s film deals openly and honestly with the neurodegenerative disease which affects her family. Knowing that the disease can potentially affect them at any stage of their lives, The Octopus examines the moral and ethical dilemma faced by family members who have the option of taking a test to see whether the disease will affect them or not.
Long Documentary
Highly Commended
In Case of Loss of Pressure
Sarah Moon Howe
Belgium, 2009
46m
Belgian film-maker Sarah Moon Howe’s stigma-bursting film documents her own carefree life, working as a stripper, and how her outlook was changed by taking care of her son, who was born with a birth defect and has required painful surgery to enjoy life. Using home movies, video diaries and interviews, In Case Of Loss of Pressure depicts a family unit under extreme stress, but offers a moving and positive account of how love can overcome difficulty.
Long Documentary
Highly Commended
When the Devil Knocks
Helen Singer
Canada, 2010
90m
From Canada comes When The Devil Knocks, an film dealing with Dissociative Identity disorder. The subject, Hilary Stanton, allowed documentary filmmakers access to video-taped footage of her therapy sessions as she attempted to deal with her condition. Working with therapist Cheryl Malmo, Hilary attempt to overcome her multiple personalities; sadly Stanton died soon after making the film, but her bravery in allowing her treatment to be recorded and seen will inspire those who suffer from the condition, and a much wider audience as well.
Animation
Winner
Heroes & Villains
Tom Geens
UK, 2010
6m
Open Cinema, a non-profit organisation based in London that creates filmmaking projects for the homeless, and together with Tom Geens, an award winning short filmmaker, and composer Pete Diggins, created an inspiring music video for an original track featuring the musical talents of the members. Using lo-fi but imaginative stop-motion techniques, Heroes and Villains is an upbeat celebration of life, giving voice to sections of society who are often marginalised.
Animation
Highly Commended
Depression of Detective Down 2
Anthony Thurman
USA, 2011
19m
Taking depression as a subject matter doesn’t require the film to be depressing itself; a sequel to the filmmaker’s success, this new animated short features Detective Rolando Downs attempting to solve a tricky case while wrestling with his own inner demons. Produced and directed by Anthony Thurman, the film features a likable and accessible lead character who is faced with a deluge of everyday problems, from bill-collectors to an unreliable old car, as he tries to separate his own negative feelings from his own important police-work.
Thematic Film: Dementia
Winner
Day by Day (Met De Dag)
Ben Brand
Netherlands, 2010
10m
From the Netherlands, Day by Day is a compelling account of a young woman called Meike whose relationship with her father Frank is affected by the older man’s experience of dementia. As well as a truthful account of degenerative illness, Day by Day explores the positive and negative effects of professional caring within the family, as the family routines of meals, swimming and playing board games is threatened by Frank’s growing inability to take care of himself.
Thematic Film: Dementia
Highly Commended
Something Remains (Algo Queda)
Ana Lorenz
Spain, 2010
16m
Written and directed by Ana Lorenz, Algo Queda will strike a chord with anyone who has experience of Alzheimers. Using a flashback structure to contrast past happiness with present difficulties, it describes the problems of a young woman who is attempting to take care of her mother as she falls under the influence of Alzheimers. The title, Something Remains, puts a positive slant on the idea of a daughter who realises that her effects to help her mother reflect her mother’s own efforts to raise her.
Thematic Film: Public Awareness
Winner
Locked
Claire Gellard
UK, 2009
7m
The subject of OCD has rarely been touched on in cinema, but Claire Gellard’s Locked offers a moving study of an old man who finds himself affected by obsessive compulsive disorder. When his own son comes to visit, the man struggles to conceal his affliction, until the stress becomes too much for him. Gellard’s well-produced and acted film captures the experience of OCD is a simple but effective manner, opening up a difficult subject without sentimentality or contrivance.
Thematic Film: Public Awareness
Highly Commended
My Life 2
Peter McMahon
UK, 2011
14m
Also from Glasgow-based Diversity Films, My Life 2 is Easterhouse filmmaker Peter McMahon’s sequel to his original documentary. Picking up where My Life left off, it’s a touching and sometimes comic account of how people with learning disabilities find themselves stigmatised and bullied, and how such situations can be resolved.
Submit Your Film
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) will return from 19 October to 8 November 2026 for its 20th year.
Film submissions are open until Friday 17 April 2026. Find full guidelines and eligibility criteria on our FilmFreeway listing.
