Episode 127

full
Published on:

3rd Apr 2020

Mental Health and the Documentary Filmmaker with Rebecca Day

We doc filmmakers are no strangers to mental health. Whether by the very nature of being doc filmmakers or from the subjects of our documentaries, we're often dealing with levels of anxiety, stress, and/or depression on a daily basis.

Still it's not something that we often openly talk about. That is, not until recently, as more and more doc filmmakers and more and more documentary organisations are having open and honest discussions about the topic of mental health as it related to independent documentary filmmakers.

And our guest, documentary filmmaker and psychotherapist, Rebecca Day (Film in Mind) is often leading these discussions!

Enjoy today's episode as both Rebecca and I delve into this immensely important topic that may, in fact, be more relevant now than ever!

 

Topics Discussed

  • ways in which our host has dealt with bouts of mental illness
  • how doc filmmaking brought Rebecca Day to psychotherapy
  • sustainability for the doc filmmaker is not only financial, but emotional
  • how to immerse yourself in your subject but also protect yourself
  • how we doc filmmakers can be dealing with the added stress & anxiety of the coronavirus

 

Additional Resources

The following resources come from Rebecca Day's Film in Mind site.

"The documentary career is as demanding and taxing as it is rewarding. On the one hand, there are the occasional honours, accolades, fellowships and grants, along with the impetus that your work can make a transformative difference in both moving the art form forward and making substantive social change. But the documentary profession is a long-odds game, one often fraught with disappointment and struggle."

In collaboration with IDA and D-Word, Rebecca discussed this topic with the documentary community. Here is a reflection on what took place.

 

"There is an incredible surge of supportive conversations, and the creation of an online community within our own sector, in ways that we haven't witnessed before."

BFI Network - How to manage your mental health as a filmmaker during coronavirus

 

Sponsors & Thank Yous

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Music Vine

Thank you to music licensing platform, Music Vine for contributing the wonderful music that we’ve used in this week’s episode.

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Their music catalogue is truly fresh, diverse, full of character, their search engine is as straight forward and user friendly and their licensing fees? Unlike anywhere else we have come across.

If you need any music for your doc project, we can honestly recommend Music Vine.

And make sure to use our promo code to get an additional 15 percent off of any subscription!!

PROMO CODE: doclife15

 

° Free Music ArchiveSpecial Thank You to recording artist, Dlay who supplied music for this week’s episode of TDL. You too can download his music or other artists’ music by going to Free Music Archive today!

 

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About the Podcast

The Documentary Life
Documentary filmmaker & host, Chris G. Parkhurst, inspires & informs you on how to best live and lead your own doc life.
Have a passion for making documentary films? Want to learn how to best lead a documentary life? Join award-winning commercial and documentary filmmaker, Chris G. Parkhurst, and special industry guests as they candidly share their filmmaking stories, insights, and experiences, for all to learn how to best lead and live their own documentary dream lives.

About your host

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Christopher Parkhurst