*October 4, 2010*[image: (From left) Tushar Bachal, who won an award for a short film on Schizopherenia, actor Suhasini Maniratnam, managing director of Sundaram Finance T.T. Srinivasa Raghavan, and SCARF director R. Thara, at the valedictory of 'Frame of Mind' film festival in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: S.R. Raghunathan] * * *The Hindu (From left) Tushar Bachal, who won an award for a short film on Schizopherenia, actor Suhasini Maniratnam, managing director of Sundaram Finance T.T. Srinivasa Raghavan, and SCARF director R. Thara, at the valedictory of 'Frame of Mind' film festival in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: S.R. Raghunathan*
A slew of short films dealing with complex mental health issues, the mandate of psychiatrists and the role of the family won awards instituted by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) here on Sunday. Actor-filmmaker Suhasini Maniratnam presented the awards and cash prizes at the conclusion of the “Frame of Mind” international film festival on mental health 2010. The award for the best short film was given to “Pages of Life,” directed by Tushar Bachal and submitted to the competition section by Pune-based Chaitanya Mental Health Care Centre. Rony George, who produced the film that deals with the onset of schizophrenia and the impact on the family, accepted the award. Joint second prize was given to “Prerana,” a film focusing on the support role of the family and directed by Surya Ramachandran and Vignesh Raja and “Payanam,” a film portraying dimensions of dementia and directed by A.R. Subburaj. “Ghost in My House/Mind” directed by Manikandan bagged third prize while “Ishana” directed by K. Mathikumar took the fourth prize. The jury also announced a special mention for “My Son” directed by Kabil Dev. Presenting the awards, Ms. Suhasini underscored the educative role and potential of cinema and television. “Films are a fantastic medium and the huge impact they have cannot be denied,” she said. On the jury's perspective, Mitchell Weiss, Swiss mental health research scientist and chairperson of the film festival, said the festival had approached mental health not as diagnostic entity but as a problem that operated in the social world. It also bridged the responsibilities of filmmakers to accurately portray mental health problems and the need for practitioners to appreciate the importance of effectively communicating to the public, he said. Mohan Agashe, psychiatrist and actor, said films on mental health issues had an important role in presenting a complex condition such as schizophrenia to the lay public in a language they could access. Noting that good films were ones that raised important questions than sought to present solutions, Mr. Agashe said the value of films in promoting understanding could not be underestimated. R. Thara, SCARF Director, said the film festival took six months of teamwork to put together. T.T. Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance, Harsha Koda and R. Mangala, members of the organising committee, also participated. http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article811445.ece?css=print -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
