Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

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Wednesday, 01 October 2008

The Scottish Recovery Network are delighted to be one of the lead partners in the 2nd annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

View / download the SMHAFF 2008 programme (PDF)

The Festival is becoming a major cultural event in Scotland with a unique and cutting edge arts programme like no other; featuring over 100 diverse, entertaining and thought-provoking events across the country.

The multi-arts Festival (1 – 19 Oct) focuses on audiences’ existing interests in film, theatre, comedy, music, literature and visual arts to tackle stigma and engage people. The Festival offers a platform for artists and film-makers, audiences and the media, practitioners and people with experience of mental health issues to challenge, engage and explore issues and themes around mental health.

Through innovative programming the Festival seeks to explore the relationship between mental health and creativity, celebrate the artistic achievements of people with experience of mental health issues and promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Mental health and recovery are explored within the context of current social issues including young people and families, gender and sexuality, ethnicity and culture, poverty and post traumatic stress in a 3 week exploration and celebration.

Lee Knifton, Festival Director says:

“We intend to achieve social change by engaging the media, the public, and the arts community in a dialogue about mental health issues.

“The Festival has inspired artists, writers, musicians, academics to generously donate their time to develop wonderful creative projects.”

In what was originally intended to be a two day film festival last year, The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival attracted over 3,000 people in 2007, particularly hard to reach audiences. A soon to be published study from last year’s evaluation demonstrates significant improvement of attitudes and positive perceptions towards mental health.

The festival is led by The Mental Health Foundation in association with lead partners who encompass the major mental health bodies in Scotland from government to service users; the national 'see me' campaign, Positive Mental Attitudes, Breathing Space, NHS Health Scotland - Healthy Working Lives, Scottish Recovery Network, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Voices of Experience.

Hundreds of arts, community and mental health organisations add to the collaborative process and creative arts programme, which takes centre stage in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Regional partners including Horsecross and Plus Perth, Littlewing and Dundee Voluntary Action, Plantation Productions, Lanarkshire City Council, West Dunbartonshire Council, Reachout (Clackmannanshire), Roars not Whispers (Fife), West Lothian Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council and health practitioners from across Scotland ensure the cultural feast of activities reach audiences throughout the country.

Media partnerships have also been formed with The Big Issue, Channel 4’s 4Talent Scotland, DiversityFilms and BBC Scotland, with support from Edinburgh Filmhouse, Platform, University of Glasgow One Glasgow, the Grosvenor, Citizen’s Theatre, Gilmorehill G12, The Mitchell Library, The Tron and Ramshorn Theatre.

Read an article on the Herald website about SMHAFF with a video of Idelwild performing at the SMHAFF 2008 launch

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