WFT is delighted to hear that our members Maggie Ryan and Aoise Tutty Jackson’s short documentary, Listen will be released online with the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, as part of the mental health awareness week in the UK.
The screening will take place as part of the NATURE STRAND, a selection of short films which explore the relationship between nature, mental health, and wellbeing. These inspiring stories examine how nature can prevent mental health problems and support recovery, as well as meditations on how our increasingly limited access to the natural world can create challenges in maintaining positive mental health.
About Listen
“As humanity faces its current unprecedented challenges three extraordinary ordinary people are invited on a reflective journey, exploring how the act of listening may offer a promise of harmony in modern times…
In Listen, we developed our relationships with our participants Noirin Ni Riain, Nick Murphy and Pat Bracken all of who so graciously trusted us as filmmakers and caretakers of their stories.
We are grateful to Cork County Council, of particular note is Ian McDonagh who has championed our work and Music Alive, with Kevin O’Shanahan, a long time collaborator for making this one happen, to Noírín, Nick, and Pat for inviting us into their world and to the amazing crew that supported this film’s completion. We also wish to extend our thanks to 49 North Street and Cork Mental Health services, having worked with them over a number of years the filmmakers are indebted to them for their insight and continued creative collaboration.”
SMHAF takes place online from the 10th May – 16th, where you can catch Listen as part of the Nature Strand.
Speaking about the project, Director AOISE TUTTY JACKSON said: “I’ve always been fascinated by the power of ‘Listening’ and how we can actively engage with it in meaningful ways. The making of this film has been insightful, ‘ear’ opening and profound on many levels.
In our three participants, we see very clear examples of people who have learned and continue to learn how to listen to themselves. On the outside, they may appear wildly different, and in fact, they are the types of characters that one could very easily judge or put into a box, and yet their wisdom and freedom of expression is deeply inspiring and offers an alternative to the conventional constraints that many of us have grown up with.
I feel true ‘Listening’ has the power to offer much-needed space for reflection particularly amidst the rapidly changing and challenging times we are living in. Currently, group thinking and a lack of open, honest dialogue have reduced our capacity to listen and this short documentary brings an awareness of the value of multiple perspectives.”
Listen has been selected for screening during the week of 10 – 16 May, which is Mental Health Awareness Week. It will be part of the NATURE strand, available to rent from Monday-Sunday, with a Q&A scheduled to take place during the week.
Follow Listen online via Twitter as @MH_arts, Instagram as @mhfestival, and Facebook as @mentalhealtharts.
