Psychogeographies

Taking you on a journey through physical and imagined geographies, these diverse short films reveal complex landscapes shaped by trauma, grief and conflict.

Encompassing drama, documentary and experimental works, these meticulously crafted stories highlight the complexities of taking care in the most challenging circumstances and the ways that individuals navigate and create their own unique worlds.

About the Programme

Return d. Sophia Carr-Gomm (Scotland, 2025) 11m

An old man is isolated in his home. Haunted by the loss of his beloved, he embarks upon a journey to return to her.


The Call d. Sabine Kahwaji (Canada, 2025) 18m

As a deadly explosion shatters their hometown of Beirut, three siblings living abroad confront their mental health struggles amid uncertainty about their parents’ fate.


Exit Through the Cuckoo’s Nest d. Nikola Ilić (Switzerland, 2025) 19m

This intense, personal documentary tells the story of a soldier who never wanted to be one. Choosing never to pull the trigger, his defiance leads to military prison. Faking mental illness he detours away from the front line, through a lunatic asylum back home to Belgrade on the day that NATO begins bombing the entire country.


Dreamscape d. Meray Diner (Scotland, 2025) 10m

Dreamscape is a quest on the weight of times we never imagined would become our reality. In the quiet hours of sleep, when our defenses soften, buried emotions rise to the surface, often more vivid than waking life. For those shaped by migration and marked by generational trauma, dreams become both a refuge and a mirror. This film explores how the unconscious mind reflects collective and personal struggle. It journeys through the inner worlds we create to survive, to heal, and to simply endure.

A Time Before d. Leo Metcalf (UK, 2025) 12m

Trapped between waking life and dreams, Olly delves into his childhood memories, navigating the fantastical dream worlds his sister created to shield them from family strife. A journey into the buried past that shapes who we are.


Pirsas d. Angélica María Torres Tamayo (Colombia, 2025) 15m

Sixteen years ago, Angélica María Torres Tamayo’s brother was one of the 11 boy scouts of the PIRSAS group who died in an avalanche while climbing the Ruiz snow-capped mountain. 16 years later, Tamayo reconstructs the ascent of the snow family as her family explores their grief together.

SMHAF 2025: Comfort & Disturb

Our theme, Comfort & Disturb, references the famous Cesar A Cruz quote that “art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”. It is a simple expression of the power of art both to challenge and to console, often having a transformative effect on people and societies. The theme was collectively chosen by SMHAF’s team of regional coordinators, along with the arts team from the Mental Health Foundation. Across Scotland, hundreds of programme events have been developed in response to this powerful theme.