Mental as Everything(2021)

Ashley Storrie: Hysterical(en)

Star of BBC Scotland's Up For It! and BBC Radio Scotland, Ashley Storrie returns to the Fringe with a raw and hysterical show about mental health and the ways she uses humour to overcome her pain.

Act Social(en)

Civil discourse is vanishing from modern society. Improv comedians heal the divide in this documentary feature film starring Colin Mochrie (Whose Line is it, Anyway?) that explores the use of improvisation for conflict resolution. Republican Karl Rove performs improv with Colin Mochrie and endears himself to a room half-full with Democrats. Police officers do improv with local youth in order to learn listening skills. Dr. Daniel J. Wiener brings couples back from the brink of divorce using improv. Dr. Charles Limb places Second City improv comedians in a functional MRI machine to see what happens in the brain when we improvise.

The First Woman(es)

Eva’s being allowed to leave the psychiatric institution she’s lived in for six years. After a long year of waiting, the news arrive: an assisted living residence is found for her. Eva takes the first steps towards the "normal" life she longs for: to find a job, earn an income of her own, visit her mother... even find love. While she’s taking stock of her past and works on her self-confidence as well as her trust in the outside world, she also fixes firmly on her main goal: to reconnect with the son she lost custody of 20 years ago and ask him to forgive her. The First Woman is a film about second chances, the search for "normality" and the borderline between lucidity and darkness.

Fear(nl)

In Fear, documentary filmmaker Michiel van Erp creates a collage of inhabitants of the city of Amsterdam who struggle with various anxiety disorders. Today, more patients with anxiety disorders seek professional help than those who suffer from depression, making anxiety the number one mental illness in the Netherlands. This film will show how a small number of those patients attempt to overcome their fears, in order to get on with their lives in the crowded cosmopolitan city that Amsterdam is today.

The Madness of King George(en)

Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.

The Odd Couple(en)

In New York, Felix, a neurotic news writer who just broke up with his wife, is urged by his chaotic friend Oscar, a sports journalist, to move in with him, but their lifestyles are as different as night and day are, so Felix's ideas about housekeeping soon begin to irritate Oscar.

Melia(fr)

A little girl sees her anxieties manifesting themselves during her sleep.

Beau Is Afraid(en)

Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home.

David Harewood: Psychosis and Me(en)

David Harewood had a psychotic breakdown and was sectioned in his 20s. David traces his steps, meeting young people living with psychosis and the NHS professionals who treat them.

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency(en)

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency is a deeply personal and candid film following Roman as he explores the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men in the UK.

Screen Test(en)

In order to prepare himself for rejection, Mark Cronin makes a film documenting all the possible ways he can get rejected by his crush. Along the way, he gets help from his friends and fellow classmates. While this is happening, he struggles with his anxiety and confidence that is being destroyed by his OCD.

A Four Letter Word(en)

Six people in New York are adrift. Zeke and Luke work in a sex shop: Zeke takes gay liberation seriously, Luke likes to sparkle and takes nothing seriously. He's offended when Stephen calls him a gay cliché, then, surprisingly, they find each other attractive and interesting. Stephen, it turns out, has a great apartment, trust fund, and artwork he's painted on his walls. Meanwhile, Peter, a neat-freak, and Derek, nice to everyone, move in together. Peter's compulsiveness threatens the relationship. Last, newly-engaged Marilyn, a recovering alcoholic stuck at step 2, can't stop obsessing about wedding details. Can these folks sort out civilization and its discontents?

Manly Feelings(nl)

Manly Feelings is a short film by Chris Blom, about the difficulty that many men face while experiencing, expressing, and sharing the difficult emotion of sadness. The film lingers in this place of difficulty through interviews with men, supported by metaphorical imagery.

Blade Rollers(en)

Honour West and Joan Camuglia-May share their experiences in this upbeat roller-skating documentary.

Inay(en)

With the desire to help answer unresolved questions and heal lingering wounds, INAY investigates the flawed immigration pathways between the Philippines and Canada that kept so many Filipino children from their mothers.

Wirf dein Herz ins Meer(de)

Connecting the Dots(en)

Connecting the Dots takes on the subject of mental health through the voices of young people around the world.

Jump!(es)

Matchstick Men(en)

A phobic con artist and his protege are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the con artist's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.

L'anxiété, au 21e siècle(fr)