Breaking the silence - How film can help us heal

Sometimes, the first step towards healing is finding the courage to tell the story.

For many people who have experienced violence, abuse, loss, or crisis, the journey that follows can be complicated and deeply personal. The pain may not always be visible, and the process of recovery is rarely linear. Yet, through film, stories that are often kept hidden can find a voice, creating opportunities for audiences to reflect, connect, and begin difficult conversations.

It is this intersection of storytelling, mental health, and healing that lies at the heart of Films That Move, a biannual short film screening series celebrating Caribbean and African cinema while creating space for conversations around mental health, social issues, and community healing.

Programme Director Alicia Walker, whose involvement with the initiative began with the film Scars, has helped to shape the programme’s focus on stories that challenge audiences to look beyond the surface and confront issues that are often difficult to discuss publicly.

The latest edition, themed “Breaking the Silence- Healing in the Aftermath,” explored the quiet and complex journey that follows trauma.

The selected films examined healing after violence, abuse, loss, and crisis, as well as mental-health recovery, emotional survival, inter-generational trauma, and resilience. Other stories explored therapy, community care, spirituality, and self-repair, highlighting the unseen work involved in rebuilding a life after pain.

The programme also emphasised an important reality: healing does not happen in a straight line, and silence can sometimes become one of the deepest wounds.

Film-makers were invited to submit short films of no more than 30 minutes, with the programme open to film-makers across genres, including narrative, documentary, experimental, and animation.

The response was significant. From 104 submissions, 16 films were shortlisted, with six receiving awards recognising excellence in storytelling, cultural representation, and the exploration of important social issues.

The awards included the ‘Voice of Change Award’, presented to the film making the most impactful contribution to conversations around mental health or social issues; the ‘Cultural Resonance Award’, celebrating a film that best highlighted Caribbean or African heritage; and the ‘Innovative Storytelling Award, recognizing the most creative approach to storytelling.

The ‘Heart of the Festival Award’ honoured the film-maker whose work most deeply embodied the spirit of the festival, while the ‘Emerging Film-maker Award’ recognised a promising first-time film-maker. The ‘Lens of Legacy Award’ celebrated cinematography that revealed the soul of a story through every frame.

Walker said the quality and depth of the submissions demonstrated the film-makers’ ability to engage meaningfully with the theme.

“All the submissions covered the theme well. They were competitive and helped bring to the fore not just only mental- health issues but other issues that people have been afraid to speak about in a public space, including child abuse,” she said.

According to Walker and the Films That Move team, the goal is not simply to screen films but to create a safe environment where stories can encourage audiences to examine their own experiences and consider issues that may otherwise remain unspoken.

The importance of such spaces is reinforced by Dr Brian Kazzara, consultant psychiatrist at Bellevue Hospital, who believes culture can play an important role in mental health and healing.

Mental health is influenced by a range of interconnected factors. These include biological and genetic influences such as inherited vulnerabilities and brain chemistry; psychological factors, including thoughts, emotions, coping mechanisms, and past experiences; and biographical and social factors such as childhood experiences, trauma, relationships, family history, socioeconomic circumstances, and the environment in which a person lives.

Cultural identity also forms part of this broader picture, influencing how people understand themselves, express emotions, interpret illness, and seek help.

Dr Kazzara said cultural therapy can help individuals engage with mental health in ways that feel familiar and meaningful.

“Culture has a way of speaking to us, making us reflect, and can be deeply therapeutic. Many people remain hesitant about traditional therapy, particularly in societies where discussions about mental illness have historically been met with stigma or discomfort,” he said.

“People are less receptive about receiving therapy,” he said, adding that films can be incorporated into structured therapeutic settings to help promote cultural resources as tools for healing.

Films, he explained, can reflect everyday realities and form part of the cultural and social environment in which people live. “They bring attention to discussions that are oftentimes taboo in reality. The power of film lies partly in its ability to create distance while still allowing audiences to recognise themselves in what they see on screen,” he said.

Dr Kazzara said the medium provides a structured way for people to express emotions and engage with difficult subjects.

“On screen, you can, in a structured way, express yourself. These films are one step closer to the dialogue that many people are reluctant to have. The change in how mental health is discussed over the years is also significant. Twenty years ago, discussing mental health was taboo. There was a grim silence on many of the issues,” Dr Kazzara said.

Today, he believes that platforms such as film festivals are contributing to a broader cultural shift, creating educational opportunities and helping to normalise conversations around mental health.

“Through these mediums, these films provide an educational platform. Even students now in high school are aware of the issues and are more accepting of discussing the topics,” he said.

Dwayne ‘Stewie’ Stewart, co-founder and festival director of Films That Move, said the latest edition demonstrated the importance of continuing to create spaces where film-makers and audiences can engage with difficult subjects through the power of storytelling.

The eighth edition featured two workshops, including a writers’ workshop, as well as film screening and a panel discussion that allowed audiences to engage more deeply with the issues explored through the selected films.

Stewart said the turnout was encouraging, particularly as the event had traditionally been held online, and noted that the festival continues to place significant importance on using film and conversation to highlight its chosen themes and bring greater awareness to mental health and other social issues.

“The sessions are normally held online, so having people come out and engage with the films and the discussions were significant for us. The theme was also very important because we wanted to highlight mental health issues and create awareness around the different experiences people go through after trauma. The screening, workshops and panel discussion gave us an opportunity to look at these issues from different perspectives and encourage people to have conversations that they may not normally have,” Stewart said.

He added that the festival is intended to be more than a screening event, with the goal of creating a platform where storytelling can encourage reflection, dialogue and greater understanding.

As Films That Move looks ahead, the next session scheduled for December 2026, will explore “Folklore & Memory: The Stories That Shape Us.” The upcoming edition will examine folklore as living memory and explore its role as a psychological, cultural and emotional inheritance.

It is another opportunity to consider the power of storytelling, not simply as entertainment, but as a way of understanding who we are, where we come from and how our stories shape the way we heal.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com