This year, I had the privilege of being asked to be a judge in a short film competition labeled as “Wellywood with a social twist”.

The Like Minds Wellington Film Competition asked filmmakers to create shorts, no longer than 2 minutes, which explored the theme “be there and stay involved with someone experiencing mental illness”.

Here’s who we chose as the winner:

This film was far and away the best, for me, out of the ones we reviewed.  It has a quirky and engaging style, and perfectly illustrates the key message in an entirely visual way, crossing the language barrier.

I love the idea of slowly becoming overwhelmed illustrated by being covered in post-it notes.  Intended to be used as quick reminders of things you need to do or remember,  they’re a lovely symbol for the obligations and tasks in life that heap on top of us, causing pressure that can result in depression or mania.  This often happens when you’ve yet to learn the art of saying no.

The filmmakers haven’t written anything on the post-it notes, because what’s overwhelming our character is not important.  To be specific would distract from the core issue, and potentially limit the audience.  This short is about presenting a problem, and modeling a solution, so they’ve followed the golden rule of keeping the message simple.

In real life, by the time you start to become overwhelmed, you can’t even remember what’s on the post-it notes anyway.  In the film, the notes are stuck onto the character, face-out, so he has no perspective on the various tasks or problems that are building up.

Finally, when he is covered, another person is introduced.  He slowly starts to unmask his friend, starting with his eyes.  Eye contact is the most intimate form of human interaction that doesn’t involve touching.  It’s our first point of connection.  Some of us find it intimidating, and the first thing we do when we’re ashamed, embarrassed or experience low self-esteem is to look down or away.

In the film, our character doesn’t notice at first that his friend is there, or helping.  This is what happens when things have got too much and your brain has shut down.  But the friend continues to persevere.

When I first watched this, and the film was nearing its end, I wondered whether – as great as it was – the film was going to make the fatal mistake of failing to illustrate that recovery is a partnership.  The people in your life can reach down and give you that initial pull out of the ditch, but for your own long-term wellness, you have to be involved yourself.

And sure enough, by the end of the film, both characters are removing the post-it notes.  That’s what pushed the film over the line from me from ‘very good’ to ‘perfection’.

Being there and staying involved is a fine line, particularly when you have someone in your life who is very unwell.  Mollycoddling or mothering can be just as unhelpful as doing nothing, because we can end up feeling patronized, or more depressed because we feel inadequate, incapable of digging ourselves out of the hole.

So congratulations to Meg, Nicola and Karl for making this, which will be a great resource for years to come.  Suitable for all ages, it shows rather than tells – as the best films do – and is a great starting point for conversations about how to be there and stay involved in life of a person experiencing mental illness.

This film sets the ball rolling by illustrating that in the first place, you’ve got to be there.  What happens next is up to you, and communication is everything.