Dust 2016: Documentary, drama and mental health

The Dust of Everyday Life is an annual conference exploring the arts, mental health and social justice, programmed by the Mental Health Foundation and See Me, Scotland's campaign to end mental health discrimination. Producer Samuel Goldwyn shot down a proposed social purpose film with "If you want to send a message, use Western Union." Although it's now posts and tweets instead of telegrams, does the idea still hold for cinema: more pleasure, less preachy? And even if we agree that films make a difference in combating mental health stigma, is that best done through documentary or drama? Discussing these questions at Dust 2016 - at the CCA in Glasgow on Wednesday 20 April - were director and educator Kate Burton, recently involved in the young person's mental health drama Talk It Out; Sonja Henrici, co-director of the Scottish Documentary Institute and producer of the festival hit Seven Songs for a Long Life (shot at Strathcarron Hospice); Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch, who won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival with God Help the Girl; and filmmaker / visual artist Ruth Paxton, whose exploration of a Glasgow man's depression and suicide, Pulse, was a winner at the 2015 London Short Film Festival. The session was chaired by Richard Warden, film lead for the Mental Health Foundation.