Fighting the stigma of mental illness
Those living with mental health conditions often face marginalization, stigmatization and discrimination within society. One Concordia professor is asking her students to help in the fight against that stigma.
Tagny Duff, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, is having her students work closely with Montreal mental health organizations Urban Pardes and the Donald Berman UP House. “I wanted to facilitate a collaborative media project with these important community groups and my students so that we could talk about mental illness in the classroom and beyond,” she says.
“Students are very excited and challenged by the relevance of this project, since mental illness affects everyone.”
UP House helps people with mental illness stay out of hospital while achieving their individual goals. Together, the students and members of UP House have created an animated clip using the rotoscope technique, in which animators trace over live action footage to create distinctive images.
“It’s a 15-second video, so presenting a message that reduces the stigma of mental illness without being cliché is a challenge,” explains Amanda Paliotti, a student in the course. “We’re hoping to educate the public by highlighting the positive attributes of those struggling with it.”
Organizers of the inaugural Au Contraire Film Festival on Mental Health have opted to screen "Don't Hide Your Light" before each film. It was created by the following students: Liela Toure, Hugo Perez Rivas, Maya Malkin, Ryan Lloyd, Leo Badrinath and Bella McFadden.
The Au Contraire Film Festival on Mental Health takes place from October 17 to 20 in partnership with Paradis Urbain and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Films will be screened at the Maxwell-Cummings Auditorium, Door A, 1379 Sherbrooke St. W.
Participants in the October 20 Montreal Walks for Mental Health are offered free admission to the same-day screening at 2 p.m. at Concordia’s D.B. Clarke Theatre (Henry F. Hall Building, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Sir George Williams Campus). The film to be screened has yet to be announced. Updated information will be posted online.