“Months before entering university, Dinis is diagnosed with schizophrenia. His mother has to take care of him and ensure his safety, but at the same time allow him to have a normal life like any other teenager.”
This is the main plot of the short film “No Limiar do Pensamento” (At the Edge of Thought), which is currently being shooted and which counts on the support of CINTESIS. The objectives are to fight the stigma associated with mental illness, to value the role of family, and to raise greater awareness for a more inclusive society.
Two CINTESIS researchers from the Nursing School of Porto (ESEP) participate in the project. They are Carlos Sequeira (leader of the research group NursID – Innovation and Development in Nursing) and José Carlos Carvalho. Both have developed projects and research in the field of Mental Health, with particular emphasis on Positive Mental Health.
Paula Lobo Antunes is the lead actress in this film and will play Madalena, the mother of the teenager with Schizophrenia. Despite being a nurse and being used to caring for others, the character encounters difficulties and obstacles to take care of her own child, revealing the vulnerable side of the caretaker, rarely explored in the movies.
“In general mental illness has been and is depicted in films very negatively. From the entertainment point of view what matters in most cases is taking the most advantage of the disease, leading to a stereotype that is the basis of prejudice, stigma and discrimination. We want to highlight the difficulties of the caregivers and the importance of the role of health professionals,” says Carlos Sequeira.
The technical crew is coordinated by the young Portuguese director, António Sequeira, graduated in Cinema from the London Metropolitan University and winner of several international awards.
The short film, which will be screened at Porto Canal, in schools and hospitals, will also feature the actors Afonso Lopes (in the role of Dinis) and Maria Eduarda Laranjeira (Dinis’ sister), as well as Sabina Juncu (educational producer), Anastasiia Vorotniuk (photography director ) and Rodrigo Prista Garcia (co-scriptwriter), integrating professionals from Portugal, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and the United States of America.
The “No Limiar do Pensamento” (At the Edge of Thought) project is funded exclusively by civil society, which has proved to be key for its realization, having as partners several entities, namely the Order of Nurses (Northern Regional Section) and the Portuguese Society of Mental Health Nursing.