Global Health Film Days: Youth Mental Health / Short Film Programme and Youth Panel

The Youth Mental Health Short Film Programme will present five short films about young people’s mental health, drawing on stories and situations from around the world.

The films in this program cover a wide range of perspectives; from Gasping for Life (2023), a film about a young person’s experiences with depression and anxiety, to Nexus (2023), a story about one adolescents’ struggles with an eating disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other films in the program are: Her Name was Sita (2023), a film about the situation surrounding suicide and self-harm among young women and girls in Nepal, Antara (2021), a film about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on mental health through the eyes of three-year old in Bangladesh, and Boys of Nunavut (2018), a short film about mental health, suicide risks and cultural belonging among Indigenous boys in a region of Northern Canada.

TRIGGER WARNING: The short film programme contains conversations and depictions of people struggling with suicidal thoughts and selfharm.

Event

The compilation of films for the Youth Mental Health Short Film Programme covers diverse perspectives from young people around the world. Ranging from 8 to 24 minutes in length, these films discuss unique and important topics within youth mental health.

The screenings will be accompanied by short speeches from field experts and film directors, as well as a youth-led panel discussion following the films. In this 175 minute opening event for the Global Health Film Day’s festival, we hope to inspire conversation about youth mental health, and provide a platform for young people to explore the complexities, and necessity, of conversations about mental health.

The event is in English. After the panel there will be a festival opening reception in Asta Bar.