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Festival coverage

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

10 October – 31 October 2015

Passion is the theme of this year's Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, and it has another packed line-up of fascinating films for audiences to enjoy, including two premieres from Norwegian directors. It's also notable for having half its features directed by women, something that's rare at any festival. It will be held in venues across Scotland, with major film selections screening in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth, supported by an extensive programme of arts events.

Other years (4)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • 9999
    Review preview for 9999

    Vermeulen has chosen to make a quiet film that allows us to spend time with the men themselves and appreciate what they're going through.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A documentary following five different inmates in Merksplas’ Prison who are held indefinitely because they are mentally ill.
  • The Silence Of The Flies
    Review preview for The Silence Of The Flies

    The voices of the bereaved come through clearly in this sensitive film, whilst fragments of art and writing carry those of the deceased.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A documentary looking at the mysterious suicide epidemic in the Venezuelan Andes and meeting two women who have lost their daughters to it.
  • The Closer We Get
    Review preview for The Closer We Get

    Emotional weight grounds the film and gives it a resonance beyond the confines of this single family home.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Auto- biographical documentary about an apparently ordinary family having to stoically deal with broken dreams and hidden secrets.
  • The Road Within
    Review preview for The Road Within

    The clashes between characters give this film plenty of catalysts for interesting discussions, and it is refreshing that these discussions are not framed as anything other than three young adults connecting.

    Luke Shaw · 3.5 out of 5
    A Tourette's sufferer goes ona road trip with his doctor and a couple of other troubled youngsters.
  • Still Alice
    Review preview for Still Alice

    Moore runs away with the film.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A woman and her family struggle to cope after she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
  • Rocks In My Pockets
    Review preview for Rocks In My Pockets

    It is funny and serious by turns... full of striking and humorous images.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    An animated film exploring living with illness.
  • Silver Linings Playbook
    Review preview for Silver Linings Playbook

    Russell impressively couples gambling strategies with self-help mantras to expose the machinations of searching minds who don't know how to flee the ugly banal lives of most common betrayals and economic anxieties.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A man trying to reconcile with his wife after a stint in a mental institution finds things get complicated when he meets a mystery girl.
  • Amour
    Review preview for Amour

    Haneke goes far beyond pushing emotional buttons into territory where our most visceral fears lurk.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    An elderly couple deal with the ravages of old age.
  • Little Miss Sunshine
    Review preview for Little Miss Sunshine

    Writer Michael Arndt has cleverly captured the bribery and corruption which lie at the heart of most families.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A dysfunctional family's road trip to a beauty pageant.
  • Lars And The Real Girl
    Review preview for Lars And The Real Girl

    Every performance in it is perfect.

    Anton Bitel · 4.5 out of 5
    A quiet young man falls in love with a woman who is perfect in every way - except that she's inflatable.

A–Z of Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2015 reviews

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