Mental health worker wins U.S. Film Festival Award for short film about psychosis
Justin Walker, Support, Time and Recovery (STR) worker at GMMH, has won the best Experimental Film Award at the WILDsound Film Festival in the United States.
Justin submitted his short film, Auditory, in June and shortly after received the exciting news that he had won the best under 5-minute film category.
Auditory is about a young girl who is studying for exams, is incredibly stressed and anxious and is experiencing her first episode of psychosis. It shows how she does investigative work herself, seeing if going to a quieter space will stop the voices.
At an early age, Justin developed a passion for filmmaking but after some challenges in school and being told by a Careers Adviser to ‘get a manual labour job,’ he shelved his dream and fell into a range of low skilled roles to earn money.
In 2016, Justin changed careers and started working for GMMH as a Healthcare Assistant in Inpatient Services before going onto train as a STR worker in the Home-Based Treatment Team.
Justin now works for GMMH’s Early Intervention in Psychosis Team (EIT) based in Wigan, who work with people aged 14 – 65, who have experienced a first episode of psychosis.
Research shows that early intervention teams can help people experiencing the early signs of psychosis to make a better recovery and reduce the risk of relapse and needing to be admitted to hospital.
The EIT service offers education and advice on psychosis, medication options, family support as well as help with areas such as employment, education, and housing.
Justin’s role involves supporting service users to pursue their hobbies and integrate into the community, whilst keeping their best interests at the heart of care and building good therapeutic relationships.
It was through this work that Justin found the inspiration to produce short films, helping to raise awareness of mental health conditions, from the individual’s perspective.
COVID gave Justin the space to be bit more creative and combine his two passions of film-making and mental health services and he started experimenting again, dusting off skills from a media production course taken after school many years earlier.
Justin found that modern technological advances such as smartphones, has made film-editing more accessible and he finds the process from script writing to acting, directing, and editing, extremely therapeutic.
Justin said:
“I am thrilled to have won this award with my short film, Auditory, which will hopefully raise more awareness and understanding around psychosis.
“The inspiration for this film came from the individuals whom I have supported; I always reflect on the service user’s perspective, which sparked the idea for this short film.
“My Colleagues and Manager at GMMH have been extremely supportive of my filmmaking, sharing feedback and encouraging me to continue making films.”
Justin was recently contacted by University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), to request permission for three of his mental health themed, short films to be aired at an upcoming Film Festival taking place in October, aimed at students and the public.
Next for Justin are two more creative projects; creativity runs in the family as Justin’s eldest daughter recently won a short story competition which he will be turning into a short film.
Justin is also planning to make another short film about a patient who has been discharged from a mental health unit, which will be a soul searching, redemption story.
You can find more information about our Early Intervention Service by visiting: Early Intervention Teams | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT (gmmh.nhs.uk)
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, help is available. To find out about the services available to you, please speak with your GP. A 24/7 mental health crisis helpline for all ages is also available free of charge, day or night on 0800 953 0285.
Watch Justin’s short films at his YouTube channel (Illy-Pheebs Production) here: https://youtube.com/@illy-pheebsproductions5700?si=Mu1VWMMthdt1zO9M
