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Amélie - the ultimate feelgood movie?
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Beyond the barricades The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival’s third year is bigger than ever, finds Kirstin Innes
I t started in 2007, with 40 fairly low-fi events, mostly in and around Glasgow. Two years on, and the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is collaborating with major Scottish artists, musicians and writers, co-running events with the National Theatre of Scotland and the BBC and putting on hundreds of its own events up and down the country. It’s fair to say director Lee Knifton feels a little like he’s spawned a (rather wonderful) monster.
‘Yes, it’s doubled in size every year!’ he says. ‘And so many people are involved! We’ve got people like the BBC and the National Theatre of Scotland on the one hand, and on the other we’ve got very small community groups doing events that aren’t even in English. But everyone, across the board, is working to develop a series of events to bring issues of mental health to life.’ This year, the festival takes in everything from gigs to comedy, theatre and experimental dance to workshops and art exhibitions. Some of these are headed by big starry names while some are the work of community groups. Knifton is particularly proud of the film strand this year: from the 50 Cents For Your Soul (it’s a quote from Marilyn Monroe) programme at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse looking at films dealing with female mental health, to the public-nominated strands of feelgood movies (Amélie, ET and, peculiarly, Drugstore Cowboy all feature) across Glasgow.
‘The arts allow us to engage with the public more
widely and on an emotional level,’ he explains. ‘If you try and put something across on a public poster, or in a workshop, you have to present a case. It’s not always about intellectual engagement – a lot of people are very well informed about mental health issues – it’s about an emotional engagement that would break down barriers.’ Clearly, many of Scotland’s leading musicians, writers and comedians agree. Artists like Rod Jones, from the band Idlewild, writers Denise Mina and Louise Welsh, comedian Phil Kay and the indie-folk musicians Karine Polwart and Emma Pollock have all got involved with organising aspects of the festival. Jones has curated the festival’s closing gig on 21 October, bringing well-known local acts like Attic Lights, Frightened Rabbit and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake onstage with him at the HMV Edinburgh Picturehouse. Mina and Welsh are involved in The Trick Is To Keep Writing, a weekend programme at Glasgow’s Mitchell Library that probes the links between mental health and creativity further. Basically, there’s a lot going on. A big, glorious,
messy celebration, as Knifton is all too aware. ‘It’s not neat! Oh no. If we had a neat festival with say, two key messages, I’d be worried that we weren’t engaging with people. The world’s not neat, and neither’s mental health.’
Thu 1–Thu 22 Oct, various times, prices and venues, see www.mhfestival.com for full listings.
✽✽ Suffragism As we run up to 10 October, the 100th anniversary of the historic Suffragette march through Edinburgh (look out for our feature next issue), there will be a spate of events from talks, dramatisations and discussion groups to banner-making workshops, in preparation for the anniversary march. Various dates and locations, Edinburgh and Glasgow. ✽✽ Be Creative . . . and be your own Simon Cowell, as this series of Merchant City Festival- affiliated sessions let you record your own single. Easy on the topnotes there, Mariah. Creation Studios, 16 Trongate, Thu 24–Sun 27 Sep. ✽✽ GCM Social The Glasgow Craft Mafia take a well-earned break from craft fairs this month with a wee social do. Look out for ‘spicy chips and crafty shenanigans’, in that order. Mono, Glasgow, Sun 27 Sep. ✽✽ Craft Guerrilla DIY Craft Evening Edinburgh are getting in on the DIY act too, with a craft evening including starter packs. Email lareylou@yahoo.co.uk for more info. Boda Bar, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Sep. ✽✽ Café Improv Five hours of music, film and dance, including new compositions and unseen music film works, curated by Sushil Dade, and as it’s part of the Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, there are various takes on mental health woven into the programme. CCA, Glasgow, Sun 4 Oct. 24 Sep–8 Oct 2009 THE LIST 29