Fortune Cookie

Under the spotlight, in front of a crowded room, drag performers are given permission to share our most authentic selves with almost certain acceptance. When the show is over and we leave our safe spaces, how do we cope with the realities of a less-than-forgiving world? What faces do we wear? Follow several captivating artists as they navigate the complexities of gender identity, community, and mental health – and learn how they became masters in staging face.

Staging Face

Under the spotlight, in front of a crowded room, drag performers are given permission to share our most authentic selves with almost certain acceptance...

Sue, a solicitor turned artist, was diagnosed with schizophrenia two decades ago. She re-wilds a garden and discovers an affinity with plants.

Where is my thought now?

Sue, a solicitor turned artist, was diagnosed with schizophrenia two decades ago. She re-wilds a garden and discovers an affinity with plants.

Looking Glass is a narrative short film that illustrates how invisibility is often intimate, personal, and impactful to mental health. Blending elements of dance and Afro-inspired rhythms, this journey to self-love invites the audience to examine the true cost of our inner-critics. Inspired by personal experiences and West-African trickster god Anansi, this film has been crafted with a mirror to our human experience. In Looking Glass, Anansi uses cunning creativity and wit to remind Asha of who is, and should be most important to her - herself.

English

Looking Glass

After an encounter with a mythological African being, an aspiring dancer loses the ability to see herself in the mirror.

Fighter asks the tough, awkward, and infrequent questions about mental health to three generations of firefighters. Home movies and impromptu conversations are woven into interviews in this deeply personal reflection on intergenerational connection, trauma and coping, and how expectations of masculinity in firefighting have an impact on mental health.

Fighter

Fighter asks the tough, awkward, and infrequent questions about mental health to three generations of firefighters.

Factory Talk is an intergenerational conversation about identity, sexuality and masculinity in a rural factory.

Factory Talk

Factory Talk is an intergenerational conversation about identity, sexuality and masculinity in a rural factory.

VWI: Past Grant Recipient Films

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VWI is a film grant and mental health film festival. We fund 10 short films on the topic of mental health each year. These 10 shorts are premiered at our festival, in-person and online. We screen the best short films exploring mental health from all over the world. All on-demand. All Free. Register Now.

Mental Health Short Film festival fighting mental health stigma, this year focusing on Climate Change & Burnout.

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.