Exploring Mental Health and Belonging as themes in Film this January

A chance to shine a light on topics otherwise left under the radar on public platforms; independent short films I Need To Talk To God (Elisha Tawe, 2023), Weirdo (3D, 2023), and Nexus (Chris Godwin, 2022) premiere this January and centre around the topics of mental health and belonging in the age of 2023. A creatively poignant start to the new year, and are ones to watch.

Shot entirely on an iPhone, I Need To Talk To God will be launched on the AppleTV app on January 16th, 2023, as part of a competitive training programme run by Fully Focused Productions. The story centers around a young Cameroonian battling with his identity and the notion of belonging while trying to “remember and recapture the ideas of family and the home he has left behind.” In this short, the fight for home, healing, acceptance, and belonging are significant factors. Its depth is unmatched, and the delivery onscreen is haunting. 

Also produced with Fully Focused Productions and available on the AppleTV app, Weirdo is a short experimental examining how inner dialogue can make or break relationships. It looks at the anxiety that can suddenly grip you whenever you’re enjoying yourself with friends and plagues you for the rest of the day. It’s spirited, poignant, and delightfully weird.

Finally, working in partnership with Burdett Trust and West London NHS Trust, Inner Eye Productions have co-produced Nexus. Delving into the topic of COVID-19’s impact on young people’s mental health, Nexus concentrates explicitly on eating disorders within men and a hyperawareness of body image triggered by the pandemic. As close to home as Nexus is, I feel it will be an uncomfortable watch; however, some of the best independent films are just that uncomfortable.

Discover more from GUAP’s Arts & Culture section here