Documentary Premiere: ‘An Open Door’ (Ireland)
An Open Door is a new Irish short documentary film produced in collaboration with independent film director Aoise Tutty Jackson of 92 Circles and 49 North Street, a community hub and mental health services centre in West Cork, Ireland, that incorporates ‘person-centred modalities’ as a core focal point of wellness.
An Open Door is now premiering online for the first time on Monday, 5 October 2020, simultaneously in Ireland via The Wellbeing Network and in the United States on Mad in America, a US-based webzine dedicated to rethinking psychiatric and mental health care (view trailer and link below).
In production since 2017, when 49 North Street had been open for about a year, director Jackson immersed herself alongside the participants to explore these approaches.
In Jackson’s words, the film “centres on Skibbereen's pioneering Adult Mental Health service, 49 North Street which is an initiative of Cork Mental Health Services and the H.S.E. 49 North Street is a developing service which uses models of co-production and collaboration as its foundation. Reflecting on darker times the participants of ‘An Open Door’ discuss the importance of a service such as this.”
By providing a space which welcomes creative expression, and allows ideas and community to flourish, this film poses the question: ‘How can we continue to bridge the gap between the stigma often associated with ‘Mental Health’ and a more universally identifiable journey of ‘wellbeing’?”
Stills from the film:
The West Cork coast
Programme participation
Outside 49 North Street
A film subject and programme participant
Robert Whitaker of Mad in America writes, “Today, there are efforts in many countries to rethink “psychiatric care,” and you see in this film, which so wonderfully captures a spirit of joy and hope among those who have struggled in their lives, a new way that has taken hold in a community near Cork, Ireland. It serves as an inspiring example of what is possible.”
The film premiere will coincide with World Mental Health Awareness Week, which starts on Sunday, 4 October this year and culminates with World Mental Health Day on Saturday, 10 October.
Follow 92 Circles @92circles / Aoise Tutty Jackson @aoisetuttyjackson on Instagram for more on the film and further work.
Visit here to view the film on The Wellbeing Network YouTube channel, or visit Mad in America for more information on viewing.
‘An Open Door’ trailer (Ireland, 2020)
Press and Further Reading:
In Conversation with Declan McCarthy: Creativity and Mental Health (7 Nov 2018, ArtsAndHealth.ie)
An Open Door screens at Cork Film Festival in November 2018 as part of the Irish Shorts 5 programme (3 Nov 2018, ArtsAndHealth.ie)
