Once only addressed in hushed tones and allusions, conversations about mental health have increasingly become more open over the last decade. Manotsava – National Mental Health Festival by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies (RNP), National Centre for Biological Sciences and NIMHANS, which aims to bridge the gap between mental health research and regular people, is taking things a step further by organising a film festival ahead of this year’s edition. Titled ‘Screening the Mind’, the festival will highlight ‘stories of lived experience and mental illness – caregiving, survival, hope, and triumph,’ in the words of Natasha Joshi, Chief of Strategy at RNP.
While panel discussions and fire side chats are a staple and have their importance, films can do something that simply receiving information cannot – evoke connection. Joshi says, “You get time to build nuances and bring in perspectives which are harder to access at mainstream festivals. In today’s world of watching everything alone by yourself at home, it’s really important to bring people together, synchronise your biorhythms as you’re going through the same emotions and then when the lights come on, have a conversation and see everybody else who has participated in this empathetic experience with you.”
The festival will feature six films with the critically-acclaimed Kalki Koechlin-starrer Margarita with a Straw, about a young woman with cerebral palsy’s coming of age, as the concluding film. “We wanted to have diversity in terms of language and regions, so you will see that reflected in the films,” says Joshi, adding, “We also looked at how thoughtfully and accurately the film has dealt with the theme (of mental health) and tried to pick films focusing on different angles of mental wellness. For example, Dhoosar is a very good film about Alzheimer’s and looks at the afflicted person but also the people around them. Invisible Chains too, talks about drug use and substance dependence from the user’s perspective.” The other three films include Swagatam following a young couple navigating the husband’s schizophrenia, Khidki featuring Naseeruddin Shah as an elderly man whose closest relationship is with the world from his window, and Enso portraying a father and daughter navigating the trauma of loss.