CHOL - Director Nandini Bapat
Nandini Bapat grew up in the sun-soaked, Wonder-bread suburb of Newbury Park, California.
The daughter of two Indian immigrants, she found sanctuary between the pages of coming-of-age stories like Harry Potter and The Boxcar Children and in the Indian mythology she read in the Amar Chitra Katha comics; carefully brought to her each year by her grandparents from India. Despite loving each of the stories, she desperately wished to read stories that acknowledged both of her worlds: that of the Indian and the American.
After receiving her Bachelor’s in animal science and a Master’s in education, Nandini was inspired to achieve her dream of writing and producing truly Indian-American stories. CHOL is her first short film.
She has also independently produced two comics, available on her website (www.nandinibapat.com/writing), the most recent of which is a single-issue comic about an Indian-American girl’s relationship with her grandfather.
Nandini is 31 and lives in Los Angeles.
The Cuckoo's Nest (Das Kuckucksnest) - Director Thomas Perathoner
Three doctors running the psychiatric ward in a hospital are nervous because of an announced ministerial inspection. They struggle even more, as who they face is more interested in patients ́ health, than in the economics. So even social, economic, political, and religious aspects matter.
Born in 1973 in Bolzano, a multicultural town in the Alps with mediterranean climate. With a degree in commerce, studies in philosophy, career in real estate and energy business, he joined the film industry in late 2014, as a producer. A period of work on international projects followed and he started writing and directing in 2018, with his first short film, awarded in several international festivals.
Since 2019 as CEO of 44 PRODUCTION, he writes, directs, and produces international music videos, shorts, and features.
Credits include Urban Sax in Bozen (2014 – executive producer); Urban Sax in Bolzano – un anno dopo (2015 – producer); Short Cuts from a Town (2018 – writer, director, producer); Das Kuckucksnest (2020 - writer, director, producer); and Amor Fati (2020 – producer).
The Day My Cat Saved My Life - Director Kagan Goh
Originally from Singapore, Kagan Goh is a Vancouver-based multidisciplinary artist: published author, spoken word poet, playwright, actor, mental health advocate and activist. Goh is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker with a number of releases, including the award-winning Mind Fuck (1996) and Stolen Memories (2012). His films have been broadcast on national television and gained entry into respected film festivals across Canada.
Kagan's memoir, Surviving Samsara, is being published by Caitlin Press. https://caitlin-press.com/our-books/surviving-samsara/. He has also created a theatrical play based on the material: www.survivingsamsara.com.
Kagan Goh's author website is at: http://kagangoh.com/. His documentary films can be found at: http://www.stolenmemoriesdocumentary.com/.
The Depression of Detective Downs 2: On Depression's Edge - Director Anthony Thurman
In the summer of 2000, a college student by the name of Anthony Thurman, created a documentary film based on a class trip to a computer show that he and several of his classmates attended. He edited it on a VCR and created his own production company logo to air before and after the film as sort of a joke. This is when the name ALT Key Productions was born. The name comes from a combination of Anthony's initials (A.L.T.) and a reference to an actual ALT Key on a keyboard since his major in college was Computer Information Systems.
The film was such a surprise hit with the people at his college, that he realized he should start taking filmmaking seriously. About a year later, Anthony decided that it might be best to further his college education by fulfilling his dream of going to an art school. After being accepted, it wasn't soon after that Anthony understood that the cost of classes would be too high for him to enroll. One of the advisors at the art school even insisted that he would amount to very little if he let his lack of money stop him from attending.
That same week, Anthony used his frustration towards his unfortunate financial situation, and at what the advisor said, to move him into another positive direction. He decided to go back to work on a short animated project that he had earlier abandoned due to the cancellation of a contest he wanted to enter. He rewrote many aspects of the story and decided to make it 22 minutes and 30 seconds longer than it was originally intended to be. The short was about two explorers in the future who go in search of a lost 20th Century artifact. The name of the short film was "Tomb Hackers." It was the first official film, since his playful stint at documentary filmmaking, to use the name ALT Key Productions.
From then on, Anthony has continued to use his natural artistic abilities and his skills on a computer to create short films that not only entertain, but that often invoke serious thought and conversation.
Devil's Food Cake - Director Marcia Kelson
Marcia is a writer and director. Her short stage plays have been performed in London at Putney Arts Theatre, Theatre503, OSO Barnes, and Southwark and Stockwell Playhouses. Two full length plays were longlisted for the Papatango prize (Island Odyssey in 2016, Bed 13 in 2017). Bed 13, updated with an original score by Geoffrey Hewitt, was performed at OSO Arts Centre Barnes in July 2019. This year, Marcia directed her comedy 'Baby on Board' (score by Geoff Hewitt) which was perfromed live at the OSO Arts Centre, Barnes UK. Devil's Food Cake, written, rehearsed and filmed in lockdown in 2021, was streamed online at the Brighton (UK) Fringe Festival and won the Brighton Fringe Best Newcomer Award.
The Dinner Party - Director Wendy Placko
Wendy Placko is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Northfield, Minnesota. Her projects honor multiple art forms coming together to create a more meaningful piece. Her arts background includes theater, visual arts, dance and making short films. Through involvement in community arts, she has established working relationships with other local artists and enjoys bringing diverse perspectives to her work. She has received regional Minnesota grants in 2017 and 2020 as well as a Minnesota State Arts Board grant in 2021 to support her work in film.
Dragon Quest - Director Noppatad Luangvaranan & Producer Kellie Kuah
ThatParanoidStudio is a company formed by a group of friends and hobbyists coming together from different backgrounds with a love for creating comedic content and has evolved with an aim to specialise in producing high concept genres and untold perspectives in story – film & commercial. The studio works to engage audiences with new, creative and entertaining ideas while injecting heart and soul into Singapore’s film community.
Follow My Brain - Director Robyn Thomas, Writer Tamara Plush, & Star Cam Webster
Follow My Brain (www.facebook.com/FollowMyBrain) is a highly collaborative film where the three filmmakers (Robyn Thomas, Naomi Devine and Tamara Plush) worked in multiple roles and closely with Cam Webster to tell his story passionately and authentically. In this interview, Robyn, Tamara and Cam join from around the world to share about the film (Victoria, Canada, and Edinburgh, Scotland).
Cam Webster is the star of the show. In the film, he explains how he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a 19-year-old who loved boxing and his journey to recovery. Along the way we learn how he manages his illness; meet his family, friends, coaches and therapist who support him; and experience his inspiring journey to return to what he loves.
Robyn Thomas is a filmmaker and videographer who thrives on documenting meaningful stories with the possibility to incite change. Her work has had her filming whales from kayaks, sleeping in snow caves, filming mountaintops from helicopters and collaborating on award-winning films. With a background in acting and screenwriting she has a unique perspective on what makes a compelling film.
Tamara Plush has more than 20 years as a video and multimedia writer, producer, director & documentary filmmaker. Her passion is for working with people whose voices most need to be heard to tell their own stories; often using filmmaking and photography as a tool for social change and policy influence with organizations like UNICEF, ActionAid and CARE—especially in the areas of disaster risk reduction/recovery and climate change adaptation.
Goodnight Mr. Vincent Van Gogh - Director & Animator Lindsey Doolittle
Lindsey Louise Doolittle was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1982. She grew up in Kansas and currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri. Doolittle is an art educator, children’s author and artist to the Faces After Suicide exhibition.
The Healer & The Psychiatrist - Director Mike Poltorak
Mike Poltorak is an award winning independent documentary filmmaker and medical/visual anthropologist whose work explores the theme of social health through text, ethnographic film and interactive transmedia. His projects emerge out of long term involvement, community engagement and feedback and include documentaries on Tongan comedy (Fun(d)raising: The Secret of Tongan Comedy, 2010), volunteerism in a Swedish alternative community (One Week West of Molkom, 2013) and the dance form of contact improvisation (Five Ways In, 2014). His latest documentary on mental health and spirituality in Tonga (The Healer and the Psychiatrist, 2019) won the SVA Best Feature Film Award 2020 and has screened in many global documentary, indigenous and ethnographic film festivals. As a teacher of visual anthropology and ethnographic filmmaking he has won national, faculty and student led prizes. He has also taught social and medical anthropology at the Universities of Sussex, Kent and University College London. His publications in key regional and medical anthropology journals on mental health, traditional healing, vaccination, public psychiatry and healing efficacy are cited widely. He gained his MSc in Medical Anthropology and PhD in Social Anthropology at UCL.
I Am A Black Hole - Director Ronald James Baculo
I am a filmmaker, comic book creator, and mental health advocate who wants to use visual storytelling techniques to explore important issues like mental health awareness. I have an academic background in Multimedia Design, Philosophy, and Clinical Psychology.
Ronald James Baculo is passionate about the possibilities of mobile filmmaking. He has a personal YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/RonaldJamesBaculo and one devoted to mental health at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm50WNQGGcCatXaNpN2jZBQ. You can find him on Insragram at https://www.instagram.com/breakingthroughthedarkness/.
Mad Love - Artists & Stars Issa Ibrahim & Susan Spangenberg
Issa Ibrahim finds meaning and purpose as an artist, musician, writer, activist and 20 year artist-in-residence at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center’s Living Museum. Author of the memoir The Hospital Always Wins, published by Chicago Review Press in 2016, Issa is also an award winning filmmaker for his autobiographical musical documentary Patient’s Rites, and has been featured on German Public Television, an HBO documentary, an Edward R. Murrow and Third Coast award winning NPR audio story as well as participating in numerous art and mental health exhibitions the world over.
Susan Spangenberg is a self-taught artist who started creating at the age of three. She cut her "outsider artist" teeth at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center’s renowned ‘Living Museum’ art rehabilitation program. Susan was in the vanguard of the "Girl, Interrupted" female asylum artist wave that has in the past 20 years become the new normal, and has maintained the raw essence of that genre imbued with a 21st-century sensibility. Susan is also a writer, filmmaker and actor who performs under the stage name Shyla Idris.
Mental As Everything - Director Damon Smith
Damon Smith has estimated that he has spent around 50 thousand hours of his life, so far, participating in absurd ritualistic behaviours associated with his obsessive Compulsive Disorder. With a diagnosis of both, OCD and Bipolar Disorder, and with the help of his anxious friend, Adam, these two touring, Australian musicians, will share, with original music, preposterous humour and outlandish animations, the intricate and debilitating nature of what it is like to live and talk about mental illness in a world where it’s ok to talk about a broken arm but not ok to talk about a broken mind.
Damon is an award-winning composer, lyricist, music producer, writer, instrumentalist, filmmaker and performer from Perth, now living in Melbourne.
As a musician, he has performed at countless theatres across Australia, written jingles, songs and composed ballet and has released several original albums. Appearing as a session piano player on numerous recordings he has also had music featured on television, stage and in short films. Working as a producer, he has also recorded several albums for local artists.
Singing with a unique, smokey baritone voice, he is a virtuosic piano player who can seamlessly flow between musical styles currently performing in three of his own hugely contrasting stage shows that have all amassed 4 and a half and 5-star reviews.
Writing and creating with the frequency of the tides, Damon’s work is often wry and thought-provoking with loads of comedic absurdity and buffoonery thrown in.
In his show, Mental As Everything, Smith provides a funny, raw and thought-provoking cabaret that explores the multifaceted nature of mental illness through hilarious original songs and onstage buffoonery. Smith shares his deeply personal experience of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and bipolar disorder in a show that fathoms the highs and lows of living with a mental illness.
Damon also produces and films the popular YouTube video performance series, ‘The Night Sky Is A Jewellery Store Window’ and has made over 50 videos (and counting) that feature local and international singer-songwriters.
My Ascension - Director Greg Dicharry & Star Emma Benoit
Most Recently Greg Dicharry co-directed and co-produced the award-winning feature-length documentary, Suicide The Ripple Effect which was released in theaters in March 2018 and on VOD platforms in May 2019. The film has had over 800 screenings worldwide with over 60,000 attendees.
Greg started chasing his film career in 1993 when he moved to Hollywood after college. He immediately began working on a variety of projects including feature films OutBreak – starring Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding and Morgan Freeman, as well as Mirage – starring Sean Young and Edward James Almos. He also worked on numerous music videos, commercials and live shows for VH1 and MTV.
He later returned home to New Orleans to co-found the video production company Verge Entertainment where he produced and directed numerous film and video projects including the TV pilot “Tribe TV,” which received a regional Emmy Award; “Heroin the Real Deal,” a heroine prevention film featuring surviving members of the band Sublime and “Go Cat Go,” an EPK for music legend Carl Perkins.
Greg’s film career was diverted by mental illness and drug addiction and after finding personal recovery he became committed to helping others do the same. For the last 11 years, he has been serving as the national youth empowerment director for Magellan Health, leading MY LIFE one of the nation’s premier youth programs focused on empowering young people with mental health, substance abuse, and foster care challenges, a program he created.
Greg has been honored to receive numerous awards for work in mental health including Mental Health America’s highest honor, the Clifford Beers Award - 2019, the 2014 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Voice Award for consumer/ peer leadership, the 2013 Howie the Harp Award for Advocacy in the Arts, National Council for Behavioral Health Reintegration Award- 2013, National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health Award- 2017 and Federation of Families for Central Florida – Exceptional Leadership Award - 2017.
On June 7, 2017, Emma Benoit, a successful student and popular varsity cheerleader takes her father’s gun, aims it at her chest, and fires. While her life is saved, the bullet wound leaves her paralyzed, and as Emma begins the arduous process of recovery, including the goal of one day walking again, she is propelled to use her experience to help others, while also shedding light on a suicide epidemic that is devastating communities around the globe.
Orchestrating Change - Co-Directors Margie Friedman & Barbara Multer-Wellin
Margie and Barbara are both EMMY award winning producer/directors with years of non-fiction television experience. They have produced shows for CBS, NBC, ABC, HBO, Showtime, Lifetime, HGTV, Disney Channel and others. Their previous films have aired on PBS including, the prestigious series, “Independent Lens.”
Seeking Oblivion - Writer & Director Brent Baird
Brent Baird is a Canadian actor, writer, and director born and raised in London Ontario Canada . He has appeared in several indie films and television series since graduating from the Fanshawe College Theatre Arts program in 2008. Seeking Oblivion is Brent's directorial debut. This film has been a passion project for many years and we hope you will enjoy it.
Sleep Is For The Strong - Director Sahar Hakim-Hashemi
My name is Sahar Hakim-Hashemi. After graduating from MIT in 2013, I began the "Sleep is for the Strong" campaign and documentary film project to raise awareness about student mental health issues and the importance of healthier student lifestyles with hopes for improvement. Interviewer's Note: Sahar's first interview experienced some "Zoom issues" and she graciously agreed to this "re-do" where she reconstructed most of it from memory. Thank you, Sahar!
Today Or Not Today - Director Pete Eliot
Pete Eliot is an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer who embraces world cinema and social realism, always aiming to discover extraordinary stories in everyday life. Other recent achievements include reaching the Nicholl Fellowships Semifinals and being nominated for a Mind Media Award. His upcoming projects include more dramas about mental health issues to help build awareness and understanding.
Check out Pete's mental health documentary series Instrumental Health at: https://bit.ly/2JDdUVA
