Psychosis on Screen - In the R

Psychosis on Screen is a season of three contemporary films depicting various experiences of psychosis. It aims to uncover the creativity often inherent in psychosis and to develop a shared, more human understanding of these sometimes frightening experiences.

This screening is of In the Real. For the past three years, filmmaker and psychoanalyst in training Conor McCormack has documented Bristol Hearing Voices Network – a self-help group for people who hear voices and have other unusual experiences.

Strange and wonderful, intimate and emotionally affecting, In the Real is an observational collaborative documentary which goes to the heart of the voice-hearing experience. Who, or what, are the voices that only these men can hear? What do they say and what do they mean? And how does hearing voices transform their sense of self and world?

A panel discussion will follow the screening.

There are many different perspectives about psychosis, a term that encapsulates many different human experiences – from voice hearing to other unusual beliefs. Sometimes people having these experiences need support from specialist mental health services. Psychotic experiences can help reveal the limitations of current science and medical knowledge. How we understand such psychological difficulties has a rich and complex history, influenced by developments in medicine and psychotherapy, and by changes in social attitudes to madness and human distress. We know that people with serious mental health problems are more likely to be socially excluded, unemployed and have a shorter life expectancy than the general population.

Working together, Watershed and Bristol Health Partners have put together this season to increase awareness of psychosis. Psychosis on Screen ties in with the launch of the Bristol Psychosis Health Integration Team (HIT), which aims to improve the support, treatment, services and lives of people with psychosis in the Bristol area. This screening will be followed by the Psychosis HIT’s launch event, which can be booked separately.

There are 20 free tickets available per screening for service users and carers. If you identify as a service user or carer and would be interested in attending, please email [email protected] naming the screening you would like to attend. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

The other films being shown as part of the season are:

• Keane (13 June)
• Every Little Thing (20 June)

Book your place