Children’s Mental Health Week

Children’s Mental Health Week shines a light on the importance of children and young people’s mental health, launched by Place2Be, who provide mental health support in UK schools. It takes place from 3rd -9th February 2020 and this years theme is “Find Your Brave.” You can find lots of resources to support work around this here.

Around three children in every primary school class has a mental health problem (1). In addition, many children and young people struggle with a range of challenges such as bullying or bereavement.

System Crasher

FAN New Releases supported 606 Distribution’s title System Crasher in 2020 – a portrayal of the life of chaotic 9-year-old Benni (Helena Zengel) who keeps getting expelled from one foster home after another due to her uncontrollable aggression.

Too young to be held in treatment programmes and too violent to stay in group homes, she is a ‘system crasher’ – the unofficial, controversial name given to children who slip through the cracks of the German Child Protective Services. A seed of hope appears as Benni is given an anger management trainer to help her.

The title will appeal to fans of European cinema, people interested in mental health, and young audiences. You may wish to consider screening the film, supported by The Association of Child Protection Professionals, in your cinema to explore issues raised by Children’s Mental Health Week. 

The film is available with English audio description and descriptive subtitles

Cinema and mental health

Often misrepresented, mental health stories on screen can add to stigma around mental health conditions. Taking opportunities to raise awareness, and supporting education, cinemas can screen films to broaden understanding about mental health experiences, and ignite important discussions about how we look after each other.

Screenings can be for a range of audiences, from children and young people themselves to parents, carers and professionals who work with young people. Find some ideas for film screenings and events relating to Children’s Mental Health Week on this page.

Cinema and wellbeing

The activity of visiting a cinema can be beneficial to wellbeing. You may wish to consider accessibility and support for a diverse range of audiences.

If you’re interested in running a relaxed screening, to help support audiences with additional needs in your cinema, find out more in our quick tips for running relaxed screenings. You may also find some transferable advice in our autism-friendly screenings guide. Ideally, consult with relevant groups in your area for advice and expertise on supporting audiences.

(1) NHS Digital (2018) ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2017.” Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017. Based on 12.8% of 5-19 year olds being identified as having a diagnosable mental health condition.                                                     

FAN supported BFI Musicals in autumn 2019. This was a nationwide cinema season celebrating the spectacle and craft of Musicals on film. This major season was led by BFI, Independent Cinema Office and Film Audience Network (FAN). 

FAN member cinemas could access screening support to present films, mini seasons or events as part of the season. With screening support, they received help to fund their own independent programming and events plus support to do wrap around activity related to the seasons core titles.

For exhibitors who wanted to include Captioned Subtitles on their screenings, Sweet Charity was bookable from the ICO touring programme. Tommy and Singin’ in the Rain was available from the BFI.

Exhibitors who wanted to run a Dementia-Friendly screening, could take a look at our downloads section. Screenings are adapted to make the environment more suitable for people living with dementia. You can find more about running dementia-friendly screenings here. Dementia-friendly screenings are also sometimes called Relaxed Screenings, though these can also be suitable for people with multi sensory sensitivities or different conditions such as autism or learning disabilities.

Exhibitors who were interested in running a relaxed screening, could find out more in our quick tips for running relaxed screenings. There is also some transferable advice in our autism-friendly screenings guide, though bear in mind much of this advice is specific to people living with autism, not necessarily those who are Learning Disabled. Ideally, consult with Learning Disabled groups in your area for advice and expertise.

With Learning Disability week coming up in June, now is the time to support learning disabled representation in the film industry as well as consider access to cinema for neurodivergent audiences.

In 2019, FAN New Releases supported Signature’s title The Peanut Butter Falcon, a modern Mark Twain-esque adventure starring Shia LaBeouf (American Honey, Fury) as a small-time outlaw turned unlikely coach who joins forces with Zack Gottsagen‘s Zak, a young man with Down Syndrome on the run from a nursing home with the dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Dakota Johnson (Suspiria, Fifty Shades of Grey) stars as Zak’s loving, but stubborn, carer. 

This feel-good film features a Learning Disabled actor in a leading role, where his disability is not the main element of the story. It’s a tale of friendship and adventure, and will appeal to fans of wrestling, good storytelling, and/or road movies.

You can now watch The Peanut Butter Falcon on BFI Player.

Bookings for Community Cinema screenings can be made from Cinema For All.

You can also watch the film My Feral Heart on BFI Player. A drama in which Luke (Steven Brandon), a young man with Down’s syndrome who prizes his independence, is forced into a care home after the death of his mother. There he rails against the restrictions imposed on him, but his frustrations are allayed by his budding friendships with his care-worker Eve (Shana Swash) and a mysterious feral girl (Pixie Le Knot).

If you’re interested to run a relaxed screening, to help bring in Learning Disabled audiences to your cinema, find out more in our quick tips for running relaxed screenings. You may also find some transferable advice in our autism-friendly screenings guide, though bear in mind much of this advice is specific to people living with autism, not necessarily those who are Learning Disabled. Ideally, consult with Learning Disabled groups in your area for advice and expertise.