SMHAF19 Documentary Shorts

How are people defined by their mental health? What causes psychological issues and how can we recover from them? These varied documentaries feature diverse individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness, trauma and poverty, from Asuncion to Dublin.

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English; Dutch, with English subtitles; Spanish, with English subtitles

Screening Programme

Asylum, Jefta Varwijk and Jaap van Heusden, Netherlands, 23m
A poetic and revealing documentary in which a man recounts his experiences with psychosis as he prepares to leave a psychiatric hospital.

Comics, Monica Zinn, USA, 18m
Suffering from anxiety and depression following the suicide of a family friend, young artist Rose Turner finds solace in nature, mentors, and comics.

Raquel, Tania Cattebeke, Paraguay, 19m
Raquel Vargas is a 54-year-old woman who has schizophrenia and has lived in the streets of Asuncion neighbourhoods for two decades.

Through the Cracks, Nathan Fagan and Luke Daly, Ireland, 11m
A short documentary exploring the unique challenges faced by families living in emergency accommodation.

Model Childhood, Tim Mercier, UK, 19m
An autobiographical, partly animated, documentary about a filmmaker striving for a better future as a survivor of childhood sexual trauma.