BSMS will host the UK premiere of Farah, an award-winning film which explores mental health and its profound effect on young people from a female perspective in Lebanon.
Seventeen per cent of the population in Lebanon suffer from mental ill health, with 49% having experienced a war-related depressive event of some kind. Ninety per cent have no access to treatment.
The film follows the story of Lina, a pre-med student, who experiences recurring intense nightmares. The family doctor prescribes her the controversial antidepressant ‘Xapa’ – also known in its illegal form as ‘Joy’. However, as Lina’s alarming nightmares deepen, a link between them and her mother, Farah, appears. She sets out on a quest to uncover a web of family secrets, which ultimately leads her to uncover a shattering truth.
Kenton Oxley, Director of the film, said: “The diversity of culture and deep history of Lebanon was hugely inspiring to me as a director. Being an outsider often allows you to see beauty in the status-quo. The film presents a perspective of a true Lebanon based on my experience and contradicts many Western preconceptions. There is a stereotype of Lebanon out there that revolves around poverty, refugees, and civil uprising, but Lebanon is a world of beauty, vividness, diversity, and joy. The film aims to represent that balance.”
Hassiba Freiha, Director and Writer, said: “Currently, society’s default approach to treating mental illness is often to resort to psychiatric drugs and/or many years of therapy and to me, that paradigm seemed to disempower the individual rather than unlock the potential for self-healing within us all. Raising awareness of the issues surrounding family, mental illness, medicine, and the meaning behind our perception of our mind, body, and soul, regardless of where we live, are the central themes of Farah.”
The film is part of the CineCity film festival and is also an early event in BSMS’ 20th anniversary celebrations, which focus in part on the school’s strong links to the arts.
Prof Khalid Ali, Reader in Geriatrics at BSMS, who helped bring the film to the UK, said: “Screening Farah as part of our BSMS20 celebration reinforces the role of film in supporting healthcare practitioners and medical students understand and empathise with those living with mental illness and their families.”
The film will be screened at the Attenborough Centre, University of Sussex, on Wednesday 15 November at 7pm. The directors Hassiba and Kenton will join Prof Bobbie Farsides, Professor of Clinical and Biomedical Ethics at BSMS, for a conversation following the film screening. The event is open to all with tickets priced at just £3 for concessions and £5 for adults.
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