Short Cut: The Final Cut

Lights, Camera……………… Mental Health !

“I’m not crazy… I’m just a little unwell” was the theme of this year’s short film competition under the Mental Health Awareness Week, organised by the Psychology department of Lady Shri Ram College. Aspiring film makers from The University of Delhi sent in their creative pieces to be reviewed by our eminent jury. The prizes were awarded on August 22, 2014 in the college itself and the event was presided over by our judges- Ms. Sreeja De,  a clinical psychologist and Mrs. Aparna Sanyal,  an award winning  director. The movie Comfortable Illusions shot and directed by Mallika and her team​ from Kamla Nehru College bagged the first prize while students of Keshav Mahavidyalaya- Sukriti Khanna and Ankur Kapur were declared the first runners up.

The participants produced heart-stirring stories of individuals suffering from varied psychological problems, not only disorders, and yet celebrated their normalcy, just like anyone else! The audience interacted with the guests, asking questions. Mrs. Sanyal narrated her journey of becoming an accomplished filmmaker and revealed that she drew inspiration from the protagonists of her documentaries, particularly individuals who revelled in their passion, didn’t need any kind of acknowledgement for their knowledge and  eschewed showing off. Ms. Sreeja De talked about challenges a clinical psychologist faces everyday and quoted some interesting cases also. The event concluded on the the note that awareness about mental health still needs to reach every nook and corner of the society.

Report by ​Parul and Aishwarya​, Correspondents, Editorial Board

Photographs by Harshita