Volunteer aims to use film to increase awareness about mental illnesses in West Bengal

In 2009 Chloe Dean will be taking up a volunteer placement with Antara. Chloe plans to raise £600 for a documentary and health education project.

Raising awareness about global mental health issues in the UK is one of our core charitable activities. Also supporting partner organisations efforts to remove stigma, and inform local populations about mental health problems is important for removing exacerbating social factors and improving health outcomes. Film may be a vital tool in the area Antara works where a significant part of the population would not be able to make use of written literature.

Chloe writes: During my placement in Antara, I will:

• Undertake a project of producing a short documentary that will enlighten and increase awareness of issues around global mental health, mental health inequalities and relations to social inequalities.
• Produce short education films on specific mental disorders; observing and discussing causes, symptoms and treatments that are available, with increased focus on the treatments that Antara offer. Bengali / English versions will make these health education short films relevant to patients, families and communities supported by Antara and beyond.

I am gaining advice and support from health-education material and documentary makers in the UK and India, to make this project as effective as possible.

My target is to raise £600 for digital video equipment  and editing / publishing costs. The video equipment will be left with Antara to use as a therapeutic tool and for future documentaries or health-education materials.

To support this project you can:

Pay on-line here -

Send a cheque made payable to "Friends of Antara UK" to Patient Advocacy Project, 66 Princess Drive, York, YO26 5SY.

(TL, CD)