The Frame of Mind film festival invited entries that develop the potential for films to enhance public awareness of various aspects of mental health and illness. It aims to highlight the importance of recognising problems that will benefit from treatment and support. This year the theme of the competition was the role of family and community in mental health / disorders. With that in mind, several priorities guided the jury’s assessment. They considered cinematic quality, as indicated by originality and production values. Films were expected to accurately portray mental health problems for which community awareness is needed. The jury also considered how the film contributed to public appreciation of the importance of family and community in either the development or response to mental health problems.

I - The Mind (shared by two films)



I - Go Away Evil (shared by two films)



II - Enakul Naan



III - The Dirty Mind



Special Mention - Game Over

 

 

Bipolar... and happy!
Light
Sound of Solace
Art for a better living: the story of Aruna
Kilaroli (Flare)
Reunited
The Delusion
Netru Illatha Mattram (Change, unseen yesterday)

 

On the first day, 28 September...
Karu Pazhaniappan’s Mandhira Punnagai (Tamil - 6:30 pm) tells the convincing story of a brilliant architect, as we explore his various relationships and the mystery behind his delusions. The film is a bold attempt to view a man's life from a psychological perspective.

29th September features...
Shankar’s Nanban (Tamil - 9:10 am) explores the out-of-the-box thinking that helps the protagonist handle the pressures of the current education system; while in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan (Hindi - 1:30 pm) a 16-year old boy, expelled from his school, returns home to his abusive father and a 6-year old half-brother he did not know existed. Ranjith’s Spirit (Malayalam - 5:20 pm) takes a satirical look at the increasing alcoholism in Kerala and examines what happens when a person, however intelligent, falls prey to an addiction, any addiction.

On the final day, 30th September...
Vasantha Balan’s Angadi Theru (Tamil - 9:10 am) which looks at the lives of boys and girls, barely out of their teens, who are treated like a bonded labourers when they take up jobs in a swanky multi-storeyed showroom; Amole Gupte’s Stanley ka Dabba (Hindi - 1:10 pm) peeps into the everyday life of a resilient and vulnerable school going child whose indomitable spirit tells the story with honesty and a touch of innocence. Phyllida Lloyd’s bio-pic on Margaret Thatcher - The Iron Lady (English - 6:00 pm), shows society’s attitude towards dementia sufferers while she struggles to come to terms with the death of her husband.