User:Hness002/Smile

Smile is a 24 minute long 2014 British short documentary film produced by Mordue Pictures. It was written, directed, produced, and edited by Luke Mordue, as well as produced by Natasha Branson and Nathaniel Francis.

The film aims to eliminate the universal stigma against mental health and increase awareness of its value and of the importance of supporting those who struggle with it.

Production
Smile is a production of Mordue Pictures, a British company founded by Luke Mordue in 2012.

The music is Smile was produced by Billy Jupp.

Synopsis
Smile portrays mental health from the perspective of four people: Luke Mordue, Nadja Gabbani, Jim Riley, and Jo Knight. It also features Mary Yorke and the participation of the British public. Each individual shares their own first-hand experience with either directly or indirectly dealing with mental illnesses. The overall message the film brings forth is that mental illness is not something to be frightened about, and should in fact be talked about more especially by those who struggle with it. All of the participants have one wish in common: that the shame associated with these disorders would vanish and that discussing them would become a normal happening rather than a taboo in order for the world to have a better understanding of it.

Featured Individuals
Luke Mordue: Luke opens up the film providing statistics about mental illnesses in Britain as well as worldwide. He exposes the audience to how common many conditions are in all sectors of society although people may not always realize it. Luke himself has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and cyclothymia, a form of bipolar disorder. He shares his experience with having once attempted suicide after feeling unhappy for as long as he could remember, but that he was able to found hope and keep fighting. For this reason he made Smile, in order to reflect upon the fact that depression and anxiety cannot be cured with a simple smile like many may think. His goal was to make people see that there is strength and hope in what they may think is weakness, as well as to spread awareness of the value of being there and supporting someone who may be going through it.

Nadja Gabbani: Nadja has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. She shares her journey leading up to her diagnosis, in which she isolated herself and no longer felt motivation to do things that pleased her. It was only when she went to the doctor that she could finally have those around her understand what was going on with her mentally and not necessarily physically. She expresses the support and comfort her family provided to her. She also shares her experience with feeling like an outsider when everyone else seemed to be doing okay, but that she knows this is nothing but an illusion. Nadja finally speaks about having to find herself again after losing all confidence, but that she was able to do it because she was vocal about it and wishes people who are going through something similar would not be afraid to do the same.

Jim Riley: Jim speaks about his lifelong experience with depression. He experiences symptoms of chronic fatigue, social anxiety, and, at times, panic attacks. In order to cope with it, he has found mechanisms that he loves including sound engineering, music, and other forms of art, as well as exercise. He shares one of the peaks of his condition in which he had a mental and physical breakdown. For this reason he began taking medication which has been successful in helping him. He also explains that he only talks about his condition to those whom he feels are comfortable with the subject. Jim finally talks about the compassion and will to serve he has been able to build because of what he has gone through himself, and how that motivates him to keep pushing and striving for a better day.

Jo Knight: Jo is a registered mental health nurse and shares her experience with mental illness from the healthcare perspective. She talks about how mental illnesses affect people of all ages and not one group in particular, and how it may be a confusing topic to many for being something that cannot be physically seen. She expands on this idea in saying that in order for one to be medically diagnosed with depression, they must have expressed a set of symptoms including low mood, poor sleep and concentration, appetite disturbance, and others every single day for at least two weeks. As it pertains to anxiety, she explains that it is looked at as a medical condition when it becomes an overreaction that carries on after a stressful or anxiety-bearing event that is out of proportion to it rather than only experiencing expected, normal levels of stress. She also describes the different scales of anxiety, that could range from a light worry to panic attacks and more aggravating effects. She talks about various treatments for both conditions, including medication, talking therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Mary Yorke: Mary talks about her experience with having her husband die by suicide. She shares that no one around him had noticed any signs of depression, yet he ended up taking his own life. This made Mary realize that he was likely keeping all of his feelings to himself and she wishes it would have been different.

The Public: different interviewees share their opinion on people's understanding of mental illness and how it is generally perceived today.