Inay

Shipwreck at the Threshold of Europe, Lesvos, Aegean Sea: 28 October 2015

February 2020 •English

On 28 October 2015, a migrant boat left the coast of Western Turkey heading to the closest European coast – the Greek island of Lesvos. The shipwreck resulted in the death of at least 43 people, making it the deadliest incident of that period, also known as “the long summer of migration.” One of the survivors, the artist Amel Alzakout, recorded the journey and the shipwreck on a waterproof camera attached to her wrist. This footage – which also forms the basis of her subsequent film Purple Sea – provides a unique situated perspective on this tragic event at the threshold of Europe.

Route 4

November 2021 •German

Chasing The Lion

October 2017 •English

Chasing The Lion is the story of Lionel Sanders' ascent from drug abuse and mental illness to one of the best up-and-coming long-distance triathletes in the world.

La Vie sans Brahim

January 2003 •French

Terra Firma

December 2016 •Arabic

In a small commercial harbour in the south of France, two Moroccan sailors are watching over ferries that were abandoned by ship-owners. Young Syrians make a stopover to load their cattle, African traders prepare a convoy of second-hand vehicles. Men, machines, and animals transit through this space open onto the sea.

Kindergarten

September 2020 •English

A childhood story is narrated while home movie footage is displayed. The narrator recounts her assimilation experience: moving to America, learning English, giving up your culture and a part of yourself.

Marge & Walter

November 1990 •English

In this awards-winning documentary, that aired nationwide on PBS stations in the United States, 71-year-old caregiver Marge fights for the relationship of her life, seeking to sustain her physically declining husband Walter with energy, hope, and love. (The web-exclusive series Caring for Walter is a re-edited version of this documentary and includes bonus interviews on the challenges of family caregiving.)

Ernie & Joe

March 2019 •English

Ernie & Joe follows two officers with the San Antonio Police Department mental health unit who are diverting people away from jail and into mental health treatment — one 911 call at a time.

Dear Dad

January 2024 •English

The Hasty Man Drinks His Tea with a Fork

January 2003 •English

A blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.

Scars

September 2020 •French

Alex Anna’s body is a canvas: her scars come to life to tell a new story of self-harming.

On the Edge

March 2023 •French

Things are busy at the Paris hospital where young psychiatrist Jamal and his colleagues work. The place is run down, the staff are exhausted, budgets are constantly being slashed. You know the story, but you’ve rarely seen it conveyed as engagingly as in ‘On the Edge’, which employs a handheld camera and meaningful, artistic interventions to observe the daily routine at the psychiatric ward. The deeply sympathetic Jamal is an everyday hero with an exemplary, humanistic disposition, for whom the most important prerequisites for mental health – and for a healthy society in general – are good relationships with other people. He puts his philosophy into practice by listening patiently, giving good advice and organising theatre exercises based on Molière. Realism and idealism, however, are in balance for the young doctor, at least as long as the institutional framework holds up.

Mental as Everything

July 2021 •English

Damon Smith has estimated that he has spent around 50,000 hours of his life, so far, participating in absurd ritualistic behaviours associated with his obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). With a diagnosis of both, OCD and Bipolar Disorder, and with the help of his anxious friend, Adam Coad, these Australian singer-songwriters share, through 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.

Ricochet

May 2021 •English

When a young woman is shot by an undocumented immigrant on Pier 14 in San Francisco, the incident ignites a political and media furor that culminates in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In the eye of this storm, two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.

A Point of Return

January 1964 •English

A short film portrays the events of a depressed man's day, culminating, presumably, in his suicide, though the ending is ambiguous. Afterwards, a roundtable of mental hygiene professionals and social workers examine the film, while discussing the phenomenon of suicide more broadly.

Childhood 2.0

August 2020 •English

For the first time in history, mental illness and suicide have become one of the greatest threats to school-aged children. Many parents still view dangers as primarily physical and external, but they’re missing the real danger: kids spending more time online and less time engaging in real life, free play, and autonomy. What are the effects on the next generation's mental, physical, and spiritual health? Childhood was more or less unchanged for millennia, but this is Childhood 2.0.

Mosques - Behind the Veil

March 2016 •Danish

With the help of hidden camera, Danish TV 2 documents how a known Danish imam teaches Muslim women about Islam's violent rules of adultery.

Look Away

February 2019 •French

Europe, the rule of law and host countries? Look elsewhere denounces what is happening in many European cities by taking the example of Calais. From the expulsion from the "jungle" in October 2016 to the situation there a year later, Arthur shared moments of life with men and women of Sudanese, Afghan, Ethiopian, Eritrean and local descent of Calais. By highlighting the gap between the field and the official speeches, this film shows us the strategy put in place to dissuade the exiles from staying. With original filming methods and his civic gaze, the director has managed to film the state harassment, the media staging, but also the strength and humor of the exiles.

De Laatste Dagen van Aurelia Brouwers

February 2018 •Dutch

Ritorno a casa

January 1980 •Italian

The film explores the reasons for emigrating from Italy and describes the feeling of being a stranger in one's own country after many years in Switzerland. It is the sequel to Emigrazione.