The Multicultural Mental Health Film Festival is a festival that examines and showcases the way that mental illnesses appear in different types of multicultural groups, cultures and communities.
For its inaugural year, the festival is now opening up for International categories. We believe that this will allow us to showcase how mental illness impacts individuals across all cultures, faiths, languages, ethnic groups and more. These ethnic groups can range from Armenian, Indian, Palestinian, Chinese, Filipino, African, Iranian African-American, Italian, Caucasian, German, Irish, Spanish, Hawaiian, Mexican, Greek, Jewish, Korean, and Turkish peoples, to name a few.
We wish to celebrate and champion all voices, talents, and people.
We seek films that document/explore stories of language, identity, culture, and religion and/or films that highlight sociocultural, economic, and political stressors, migrant/refugee struggles, xenophobias, and intergenerational traumas by any number of cultures/communities.
Mental illness can come in many forms: addiction, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, insomnias, OCD, PTSD, personality disorders, phobias, and schizophrenic disorders, to name a few. In some cultures and communities, individuals with mental illness are mistreated or negated, and in others, there isn’t a word for mental health.
We want to showcase the power of diversity and bring light to important stories told by diverse cultures/communities/groups, no matter who they are. We want to be a festival for everyone.
We strongly encourage submissions featuring queer stories, and Indigenous stories, including those from First Nations, Native American, and other Indigenous communities worldwide.
This year’s Jury for the Multicultural Mental Health Film Festival is comprised of award-winning filmmaker and Festival Director Matthew Keisoglu, editor and producer Ramin Iranfar, independent filmmaker Anastasiya Bura, and filmmaker and columnist Roby J. D’Ottavi.
The festival will be taking place on Thursday the 31st of October at Lido Cinemas, Cinema 3, VIC 3122.
Australian Categories
1. Best Short Film (Narrative Live-Action)
2. Best Experimental Short Film (Art Film/Non-Narrative)
3. Best Documentary Short Film
4. Best Animated Short Film
International Categories
1. Best International Short Film (Narrative Live-Action)
2. Best International Experimental Short Film (Art Film/Non-Narrative)
3. Best International Documentary Short Film
4. Best International Animated Short Film
The judging process will prioritize films based on their alignment with the festival’s criteria. Only a limited number of films from each category will be chosen for screening during the festival’s awarding/closing ceremony.
Selected filmmakers will receive invitations to attend the ceremony, which will take place on October 31st at Lido Cinemas, Cinema 3, located in Hawthorn, VIC 3122. Catering will be provided during the ceremony.
Selected films will be adorned with a laurel, marking their official selection.
For more information, visit Multicultural Mental Health Film Festival
