Stairway to Light

Reality Free

October 2022 •English

A young man undergoes the dilemma of either letting the medication he takes for his bipolar disorder suppress his entire personality or be himself with all that comes with it.

Dear Evan Hansen

September 2021 •English

Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

March 1988 •Spanish

Pepa resolves to kill herself with a batch of sleeping-pill-laced gazpacho after her lover leaves her. Fortunately, she is interrupted by a deliciously chaotic series of events.

Utopia of Death

October 1940 •English

This short film focuses on the mysterious and legendary Seri Indians who live in a utopian colony off the west coast of Mexico.

We Move

September 2024 •English

Faced with ever-growing obstacles, we force ourselves to compartmentalise and persevere; "We Move". What is the collateral damage of always having to put on a brave face?

Barefoot

March 2005 •German

A hedonistic bachelor - he is his rich family's black sheep - falls for a suicidal mental patient.

We Do It Because

January 1942 •English

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short explores the origins of various customs such as shaking hands, kissing, and why ships are christened.

Starfish

October 2016 •English

Based on the real story of Tom and Nicola Ray from Rutland. Their perfect life is totally ruined in a single moment after Tom had developed sepsis. While her husband was in coma, Nicola gave birth to their second child on the other side of the same hospital. Within a matter of days, sepsis would rob Tom of both his arms and legs, and left his face severely disfigured. As an ordinary man, Tom never put himself at risk — he just woke up two months later in a nightmare, a face-off quadruple amputee... This incredible story of survival shows what can be overcome when love is unconditional.

An Angel at My Table

September 1990 •English

Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.

Outbound

Invalid date •English

A bedraggled young wanderer lives in a desolate world in complete isolation until reviewing their past choices forces them to call for help.

The Infinite Present Ends

Invalid date •French

Based on a fictionalized 2015 memoir from psychiatric nurse Mary Dorsan, the text embeds within a teenage psychiatric ward over the course of a year, teasing out the complex bonds, challenges, frustrations and unexpected moments of grace shared between patients and caregivers.

You Just Need a Walk.

December 2022 •English

Five subjects from Gen-Z take the PHQ-9 - a survey to assess the degree of one's depression severity. They -also- have a lot to say.

Florida Tales

January 2023 •English

"Florida Tales" tells the Emotional Hurricane of a Journey by an Angry Young Man who gets lost on the road down a familiar path of medication, therapy and self reflection seeking the correlation between his and others' creative genius and their mental health.

Lui Lack, It's Not Your Fault

October 2020 •Spanish

A man stuck in time of his greatest trauma grew up suppressing it in order to avoid being judged; thinking that it was all his fault. Years of working as a psychotherapist would help him solve a rebus with some help from his clients.

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.

The Madness of King George

December 1994 •English

Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.

The Face Behind the Mask

March 1938 •English

This dramatized short film describes the historical mystery of France's "man in the iron mask". King Louis XIV imprisoned a man who was never identified, but who was forced to wear an iron mask for the length of his captivity, which ended only in his death. Several candidates for the identity of the man are investigated.

María

May 2019 •Spanish

Under Stress

January 1964 •English

Shows new methods in treating those afflicted with mental health issues. Contrasts past treatment regimes where people were locked away out of sight with the new, 1960s, psychiatric ideas of "group therapy" and talking therapy. Also shows practical behaviours aimed at returning patients to productive lives in society and outpatient services.

The Woman in the House

May 1942 •English

This short looks at the illness anthropophobia, the fear of people. In 1901, young Catherine Starr, who lives in a small English coastal town, has an argument with her fiancé. He leaves her house, goes off to serve in the Boer War, and dies of malaria. Catherine blames herself for his death and fears others will also blame her. She does not leave her house for forty years. Groceries are delivered to the house, but no one sees who retrieves them. When the Nazis bomb her house in September 1941, she is forced to cope with the outside world.