THE Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival features more than 300 events across the country. Here are our pick of some of them.
A Day Of Failure/Epic Fail
Artist Emma Jayne Park curates a day of discussion on what failure means, culminating in a work-in-progress performance of her new dance piece Epic Fail.
May 24, Tramway, Glasgow, 10.30am to 4.30pm, free. Book at dayoffailure.eventbrite.co.uk and epicfailsharing.eventbrite.co.uk
Evelyn
Oscar-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel (above) takes his family on a series of walks around the UK in memory of their lost son and brother Evelyn, 12 years after his suicide. It’s one of three films in the SMHAF programme to explore the impact of male suicide, with In We Are All Here looking at the loss of Glasgow rapper Lumo and Catherine MacLellan discussing the death of her songwriter father Gene MacLellan in The Song And The Sorrow.
May 4, Glasgow Film Theatre, £10.50, £7.50 concs. Tel: 0141 332 6535. glasgowfilm.org
Final Ascent: The Legend Of Hamish MacInnes
The remarkable life of renowned mountaineer Hamish MacInnes is pieced together using his books and films after he lost his memory at the age of 84. These screenings feature a discussion with director Robbie Fraser.
May 6, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, 8pm, free to £8; May 10, Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 6.10pm, £11, £9 concs. May 18, An Lanntair, Stornoway, 8pm, £5 to £8; May 19, Eden Court, Inverness, 2pm, £7.50, £6 concs. Tickets: bit.ly/HamishMacFilm. See more dates around Scotland at bit.ly/HamishMacFilmDates
Irene’s Ghost
Winner of SMHAF’s best documentary feature award, Irene’s Ghost is director Iain Cunningham’s search for the truth about what happened to the mother he never knew (above). The screening is followed by a Q&A with Cunningham, Catharine Carver from Action on Postpartum Psychosis and Clare Thompson from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.
May 4, Glasgow Film Theatre, 1.15pm, £10.50, £7.50 concs. Tel: 0141 332 6535. www.glasgowfilm.org
Out Of Sight, Out of Mind
Artists and organisers from Out of Sight, Out of Mind, a collaborative exhibition at Summerhall by people who have experienced mental health issues, talk to visitors about participating this October over afternoon tea. All welcome.
May 7, Cornerstone Centre, St John’s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, 1.30pm, free. Book by emailing pam@capsadvocacy.org
She Stepped Backwards In Front Of The Words Behind Her
Glasgow-based visual artist Emily Furneaux offers insight into her experience of psychosis in a curated audio tour of the city. Map and audio are available to collect throughout the festival with “live happenings and occurrences” integrated into the tour.
May 26, Many Studios, The Barras, Glasgow, noon to 4pm, free. bit.ly/SheStepped
SMHAF Writing Awards
Ian Rankin hosts the evening, which will open with a set by Emma Pollock. Chosen from more than 200 entries, the 10 shortlisted writers will read from their work before the awards presentation and a drinks reception. The night will also launch 70 Stories, a collection of stories from the first 13 years of the festival to mark the 70th anniversary of the Mental Health Foundation.
May 22, St George’s Tron Church, Glasgow, 6.30pm, free. Tickets: bit.ly/SMAFWriting19
Song Wave
Following the first anniversary of the death of Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison – a long-time supporter of SMHAF – songwriter and teacher Clare Watson has created a new composition titled Stay, inspired by the Frightened Rabbit song The Loneliness And The Scream. To take part in creating a “wave of song” on May 17, record your performance of the song in any style you like and post it on social media using the tags #SongWave and @soundcycletweet
Download the sheet music and listen to the different parts of the song at bit.ly/ScottsSoundWave. www.soundcycle.org
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