Humans are story-telling creatures. By thinking, we all unconsciously "author" a self-story in our heads. Most often, the characters and plot of our story is framed by negative experiences from childhood. These painful "stories" then determine our emotions, leading to unhealthy stress, and changes in body chemistry. This is how a person's self-story can turn into a stress-related illness.
Ernie & Joe (2019)
Ernie & Joe follows two officers with the San Antonio Police Department mental health unit who are diverting people away from jail and into mental health treatment — one 911 call at a time.
From Local to Social (2024)
Using local media footage from the London Borough of Southwark spanning the past 20 years, this documentary discusses complex social issues including gang violence, knife crime, and mental and sexual health.
Mental as Everything (2021)
Damon Smith has estimated that he has spent around 50,000 hours of his life, so far, participating in absurd ritualistic behaviours associated with his obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). With a diagnosis of both, OCD and Bipolar Disorder, and with the help of his anxious friend, Adam Coad, these Australian singer-songwriters share, through original music, preposterous humour, and outlandish animations, the intricate and debilitating nature of what it is like to live and talk about mental illness in a world where it’s ok to talk about a broken arm, but not ok to talk about a broken mind.
A Mere Breath (2016)
Romania. Seven years in the life of a family of believers, struck by the illness of a little girl suffering from spina bifida pass before the camera, with a polluted town scarred by unemployment serving as a background.
Scars (2020)
Alex Anna’s body is a canvas: her scars come to life to tell a new story of self-harming.
Childhood 2.0 (2020)
For the first time in history, mental illness and suicide have become one of the greatest threats to school-aged children. Many parents still view dangers as primarily physical and external, but they’re missing the real danger: kids spending more time online and less time engaging in real life, free play, and autonomy. What are the effects on the next generation's mental, physical, and spiritual health? Childhood was more or less unchanged for millennia, but this is Childhood 2.0.
A Point of Return (1964)
A short film portrays the events of a depressed man's day, culminating, presumably, in his suicide, though the ending is ambiguous. Afterwards, a roundtable of mental hygiene professionals and social workers examine the film, while discussing the phenomenon of suicide more broadly.
Bedlam (2019)
A psychiatrist makes rounds in ERs, jails, and homeless camps to tell the intimate stories behind one of the greatest social crises of our time. A personal and intense journey into the world of the seriously mentally ill.
The Weight of Gold (2020)
Just like one in five Americans, many Olympic athletes similarly face serious mental health challenges and struggle to find the necessary support and resources. The Weight of Gold seeks to inspire discussion about mental health issues, encourage people to seek help, and highlight the need for readily available support.
Afterword: Images of the Unconscious (2014)
Dialoguing directly with the trilogy of documentaries “Images of the Unconscious”, made between 1983 and 1986 and based on clinical cases and therapies with a humanist approach and artistic expression, conducted by the pioneering psychiatrist Nise da Silveira (1905-1999) – screenwriter of that film –, here is presented, in two parts, an interview with the doctor, a student of Carl Jung and a pioneer in the application of non-violent treatments for psychiatric patients, given to director Leon Hirszman, in 1986. The conversation is divided in two parts: the first, "The emotion of dealing", the second, "The egress".
Vincent Who? (2009)
Documentary about the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 and the aftermath. The documentary also explores the modern Asian-American identity when so few Asian-American youths are aware of who Vincent Chin is.
Guide to a Midwest Hometown (2022)
Coming back during Winter, Alex Powell explores both the places and personal connections found in his hometown and how they've changed. “Guide to a Midwest Hometown” explores what makes the barren places at home feel sentimental and special, and the good and bad feelings that come when being back home. Inspired by "How To With John Wilson".
Sicko (2007)
A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.
Unit of Difficult Patients: What Future for the Criminally Insane? (2017)
With unique and exclusive testimonies from doctors, nurses, loved ones, and patients we go behind closed doors to examine a high security psychiatric facility that takes care of some of the most dangerous patients.
The Mirror and the Window (2021)
Filmmaker Diego Gutiérrez knows that he is soon to lose two loved ones: his mother Gina Coppe and his best friend Danniel Danniel. Both ask him to film them during this final phase of their lives—Gina in her apartment in Mexico City, Danniel in a Dutch restaurant where he feels at home. What stories do they want to leave behind?
The Bridge (2006)
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.