SUBMISSIONS FOR 2024 ARE OPEN ON FILMFREEWAY
The fourth edition of the Go Mental! International Film Festival is in full swing. From September 1st, 2023 until February 14, 2024 we will accept submissions of short and feature length films.
For more info please visit our landing page on FilmFreeway.
The goal of this festival 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.
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
2023 the third year of Go Mental! as a hybrid festival
269 guests attended the live screenings at cinema ACUD
195 people attended our online film festival versions in 2021, 2022, and 2023
2032 short films were submitted from
116 countries worldwide
54 high quality short films were selected and presented to our worldwide audience
16 jury members have selected the films and first, second, and third-year-winners
3.700 euros was the total prize money for all six winning films in 2021, 2022, and 2023
20 live talks with inspiring guests have we hosted so far on our Instagram.
2024 will be the fourth 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 the art house cinema Acud in Berlin.
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
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.
