Filmmakers use the visual medium to talk about mental health issues at the SCARF film festival

Art has always been the refuge of those in search of catharsis. So when Chennai-based Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) opened its film festival, Frame of Mind, with short films on mental health issues to create awareness among the youth, the response was huge, with movies ranging from depression to exploration of sexual identities.

This being the biennial film festival’s eighth edition, Dr R Mangala of SCARF, who has been organising the fest, remarks on the changes that she has noticed in the past decade: “The theme always gets a lot of interest but that doesn’t always translate into movies. And when it does, most films end up treating the subjects as wandering, tearing-at-their-hair clichés. However, for the past couple of years, the quality of content in movies has been improving. People have been more and more willing to look at mental health as a part of normal living, a reality instead of an exaggerated depiction.”

Youth mental health

And this, she found, has been true especially of youngsters. Dr Padmavati R, director of SCARF, adds, “Every edition has a different theme, and this year’s was youth mental health. Globally, this issue has been gaining ground, because the earlier you identify an issue, the better it is.”

Winning film director Rahul Kanojia’s Denial is a clear example of that. The movie follows the main character, played by Randhir Chaudhary, as he goes about his day, listlessly refusing to come to terms with his depression. With no dialogue at all, the uncomfortable silence screams for attention. The only speech comes from the TV that Randhir watches in the dark — a rerun of FRIENDS — with hardly even a smile on his lips.

The idea for this movie came from Rahul’s close friend, who had trouble sharing his experiences. “I was sure that if I ever made a movie on mental health, I would cast a young man in his 20s,” says Rahul. “With the patriarchal society we are raised in, it is drilled into men not to talk about their feelings. And we need to break that silence.”

Having lived alone for quite a few years, Rahul had also become a huge fan of the late Chef Anthony Bourdain, whose death hit him hard. “I thought, if it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone,” says Rahul, adding, “We need to stop confusing sadness with depression.”

Another winning film, Prison, explores how trapped a person with depression can feel. To make things literal, filmmaker Arunmozhi has his character stuck in a maze, where every time he opens the door, he seems to re-enter the same room. “It’s a metaphor for the mind,” says Arunmozhi. However, the movie’s subtle suggestion that the way out for the character is to drop his negative attitude is up for debate.

The other side

On the other hand, filmmaker Manav Kaushik chose to focus on the stress that caregivers have to deal with, in his movie, A Threshold, Alone. His protagonist is the daughter of a man with dementia. The short movie, taken as a montage from his longer film, does not have any dialogue. Instead, the entire film is like a music video, with Manav having written the lyrics to the song.

“I live in senior-citizen housing in Pune, and have first-hand experience of how much caretakers have to go through,” says the 57-year-old filmmaker, who has not only witnessed his mother help her friend deal with Alzheimer’s, but has also had to take care of one of his neighbours at odd hours of the day.

“It’s like how they announce on flights,” says Manav. “In case of emergencies, put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.”