The Strand Movie Picks

Strand Arts Centre has hand-picked movies available to stream that cover Mental Health themes. This is a prelude to NIMHAF's planned film events happening later this year once the Strand and other cinemas have re-opened their doors!

As Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts Festival has moved online we’ve had to move our planned film content to later in the year. It’s supported by Film Hub NI, please watch NIMHAF’s social media for more details.

Physical screenings later in the year will include:

‘Silver Linings Playbook’ with live dancing
‘Good Morning Vietnam’ with a discussion
Local short films in Derry & Belfast
Partner screenings with Scottish Mental Health Foundation
A local band creating live film scores to archive film from Northern Ireland Digital Film Archive, at Strand Arts Centre

The Strand Arts Centre has put together a list of mental health movies that we like, and mainly focusing on sharing ones that you are able to get online potentially for free or on a subscription service.

Thanks to Into Film and Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival for the extra film content and learning packages links.

FAMILY MOVIE PICKS

My Neighbour Totoro (1988) 82mins [U] ages 5yrs+

Free on Netflix subscription

Satsuki and her little sister Mei move to the countryside with their dad to be near the hospital where their mum is staying. When they befriend the giant, furry Totoro, and take a ride on a magical cat bus, the sisters can deal with their everyday problems that little bit better.

FREE film guide and activities https://www.intofilm.org/resources/1096

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU8BRWhj9_o

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*OUR PICK*

Inside Out (2015) 1hr 22mins [U]– more suitable for ages 7yrs+£9.99 on Amazon Prime, FREE with Disney+ (7 day free trial /or £5.99 a month)

“Fantastically mapping out a young girl’s core identity, the fight for dominance between her feelings and the importance of memories (and a funny insight into why some of the less useful ones keep cropping up!), Inside Out is a very touching and smart exploration of the emotional balance that’s needed to achieve wellbeing.” Into Film

This is not your run of the mill Disney film, and definitely doesn’t cater to kids under 7 years. It’s a beautiful tale that brings you along for the ride, and even plays on your own emotions. Bing Bong… Bing Bong… everybody loves Bing Bong!

FREE Inside Out Film Guide, Interviews and more: https://www.intofilm.org/resources/105

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMwpP0yeu4

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Song of the Sea (2014) 98mins [PG] ages 5yrs+
Free/included on Amazon Prime

After the disappearance of her mother when she was a baby, 4-year-old Saoirse, who lives on a small island with her father and older brother Ben, discovers a magical coat that turns her into a seal-like creature called a selkie. A story that covers the loss of a parent.

FREE Song of the Sea activities and video: https://www.intofilm.org/resources/160

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7ZIugIa8KI

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When Marnie Was There (2014) 1hr 23mins [U] suited more for 11yrs+

Free on Netflix subscription

Anna, a shy and awkward 12-year-old, finds it difficult to fit in, and when her anxiety-related asthma becomes more serious her foster mother sends her away to recover with relatives in the country. Anna meets a spirited girl her own age called Marnie, and a deep friendship develops that Marnie makes her promise to keep secret.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YJjYxF5DYM

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INTO FILM POWERPOINT WITH MENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITIES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL KIDS
https://www.intofilm.org/resources/1421

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DOCUMENTARY

*OUR PICK*

Life, Animated (2016) [PG] 1hr 31mins – Documentary

Free on Netflix subscription

“A Joyful and Emotional Film about the True Power of Cinema” / Film

Owen Suskind developed autism at the age of 3 and withdrew into a silent state. Through animated films (especially those of the Walt Disney Company) Owen found a way to understand the world through its stories to the point of creating his own.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n7fosK9UyY

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What Happened Miss Simone? (2015) 1hr 41mins [15]
Free on Netflix subscription

Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. Covers her life with Bi-polar.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7jIOawq8y8

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Heal (2017) 1hr 46mins [no guidance rating]

Free on Netflix subscription

A documentary film that takes you on a scientific and spiritual journey where they believe, if we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5Hpm-6Inxc

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MAINSTREAM FILMS

The Deer Hunter (1978) 3hrs [18]
FREE on BBC Iplayer if you have a current TV licence (£3.49 on Amazon Prime)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hkbc/the-deer-hunter

An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7q1SjVdsNk

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Love and Mercy (2014) [12A] suitable more for 14years+
FREE on BBC Iplayer if you have a current TV licence

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hqt9/love-mercy

This biopic tells the story The Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, a genius, but also a man plagued with anxieties and mental health struggles.

Into Film guide - https://www.intofilm.org/films/18462

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lioWzrpCtGQ

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Short Term 12 (2013) [15] Drama 1hr 36mins (2013)
FREE with BFI Player subscription / 99p rent on Amazon Prime

A 20-something supervising staff member of a foster care facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhS6tvSb0UQ

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The Black Balloon (2009) 1hr 37mins [15]
Free / included on Amazon Prime

The Australian writer-director Elissa Down drew upon her own experiences to create a humorous and touching portrait of a suburban Aussie family with an autistic son. Best Feature in the Generation 14 program of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSrpcxwlEZg

*OUR PICK*

Girl, Interrupted (1999) 2hrs [15]

Free on Netflix subscription

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Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the late 1960s.

A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BHHUBZf7y4&has_verified=1

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FILMS WITH SMALL COSTS BUT WORTH IT

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) 1hr 39mins [PG] more suited to 7yrs+

Rent £3.49 on Amazon Prime

Dealing with growing up. Spike Jonze’s live action adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s classic about tameable monsters and an angry little boy.

FREE activities and guide: https://www.intofilm.org/resources/1630

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNJPSc_4RCI

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Melancholia (2011) 2h 16mins [15]

£3.49 Amazon Prime

Lars von Trier's beautiful Sci-fi Drama about the end of the world.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzD0U841LRM

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Sorry We Missed You (2020) 1hr 41mins [15]

Rent £1.99 on Amazon Prime

From director Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake)

Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labour exploitation.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysjwg-MnZao

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*OUR PICK*

Moonlight (2016) 1hr 11mins [15]

Rent £3.49 on Amazon Prime

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Stunningly shot Oscar winner. A moving drama set over three periods of a young man’s life as he grows from a neglected boy to a self-reliant adult.

More info: https://www.intofilm.org/films/18878

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NJj12tJzqc

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A Beautiful Mind (2001) 2hr 10mins [12]

Rent £1.99 on Amazon Prime

The true story of mathematical genius John Nash, as told by director Ron Howard. Nash has the ability to solve the most complex equations, but as he rises to new levels of understanding, other problems begin to plague him.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wZM7CQY130

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