#NOSTIGMAFILM
Creating more visibility for authentic mental health films
Go Mental! is Germany’s first and only international short film festival that promotes authentic and destigmatizing movies on mental health.
Our goal is to increase the visibility of mental health. Literally! As well as creating a space in which filmmakers, professionals from the field of psychology and psychiatry as well as movie lovers from all around the world can come together and join the conversation. We are giving filmmakers a platform on which they feel empowered to create new ways of storytelling as well as explore and unravel the many layers of mental health. Filmmakers are encouraged to engage with this challenging and compelling subject to create authentic portrayals through which stigmas are broken and empathy is fostered.
In 2022 we brought a curated selection of short films on mental health to the big screen. From May 20 to May 21 we hosted two film screenings at the cinema ACUD in Berlin.
The event was also live-streamed on Movies Everywhere. There we additionally presented the entire selection of films from May 22 to May 29 as an online festival. A couple of short films will be made available on Movies Everywhere as VOD shortly.
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
2020 the year Go Mental! was founded
2021 festival premiere as an online event
2022 the second year of Go Mental! as a hybrid festival
117 guests attended the live screenings at cinema ACUD
167 people attended our online film festival versions in 2021 and 2022
1.918 short films were submitted from
114 countries worldwide. It took us
330 hours to review all these great submissions.
41 short films were selected and presented to our worldwide audience
11 jury members have selected the films and first and second-year-winners
1.700 euros was the total prize money for all six winning films in 2021 and 2022
15 live talks with inspiring guests we hosted so far on our Instagram.
2023 will be the third year of Go Mental!. You will be able to join the online festival version and live-stream on Movies Everywhere as well as attend the on-location screenings at a local Berlin cinema
Disclaimer:
In case you are currently struggling with a mental health condition, we want to encourage you to always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding your condition. Additionally, the following websites and telephone numbers can be of support in urgent situations:
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Telephone counselling service (free of charge and 24/7 available): 0800/111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222
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For people suffering from Depression: 0800 / 33 44 533
Watch a selection of mental health short films from our festival years via VOD on movieseverywhere.net
GO MENTAL - FILM FESTIVAL
Watch. Talk. Change.
Our festival focuses on an all-around approach to portray mental health issues in various ways, to foster dialogue, empathy and to help break the stigma.
MENTAL HEALTH & FILM
In Germany and the US, between 21%-30% of all adults are affected by mental health conditions. This shows how relevant this topic is to our societies. Yet talking openly about mental health remains taboo. Motion pictures surround us in everyday life. They not only serve as entertainment but hold the power to educate as well. A small number of films and TV shows deal consciously or unconsciously with issues that are related to mental health. Some tend to encourage stigmatization or depict mental health conditions unrealistically. In conclusion, this supports inauthentic depictions and leaves many people misinformed when it comes to understanding mental health issues and disorders. As shown by a study of the USC Annenberg about 46% of film characters with a mental health condition are portrayed as violent or criminal. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Go Mental! wants to raise awareness and make a contribution towards changing the status quo.
MENTAL HEALTH - How To Define It ?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health "is an integral part of health; indeed there is no health without mental health." Therefore, one can neither understand health as a physical concern only nor should one assume that mental health refers exclusively to known mental disorders or disabilities because it includes the emotional, psychological and social well-being of each individual. In that regard, it is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote and interact with each other; and it is influenced by very different factors such as life experience, family history, hereditary factors, an individual's surroundings, socialization, but also by biological and physical health. At every stage of life, mental health plays an important role and determines how we feel, think and take decisions. That is why it concerns everyone - and is yet one of the most underrated and disregarded factors in the health care and public system.
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