Publish date: 27 July 2023
A Trust-backed short film will be shown in South Korea as part of an international mental health conference.
Nexus is a short film drama made by Inner Eye Productions in collaboration with Imperial College London and West London NHS Trust, with funding from the Burdett Trust for Nursing.
It will be screened as part of ISQua’s 39 International Conference from Sunday 27 August to Wednesday 30 August.
The film explores the impact of Covid-19 on young people’s mental health, eating-related coping strategies and the power of social connection.
It was co-produced with young people and based on research from Dr Lindsay Dewa, who is an Honorary Research Psychologist for the Trust.
The research revealed that eating disorders had increased amongst young people during the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s for this reason that the story focuses on a teenage boy struggling with bulimia.
Dr Dewa’s research also showed that one of the best coping mechanisms for young people was each other.
She will be attending the conference in August along with one of the young people who co-produced the film, Pelumi Fatayo, and will help to facilitate the workshop ‘Fighting for a Culture of Co-Production: Reflections, Challenges & Recs in Youth Mental Health’.
The event description says: “In this workshop, attendees will hear about several case studies from a researcher and young co-researcher(service user) who have worked together to co-produce mental health research projects across the UK. We will then reflect on challenges, lessons learned, and adaptations due to the population, setting or circumstance.”
Following the workshop, there will be a screening of Nexus as part of the conference.
Since its completion, Nexus has achieved on-going success from being archived by the BFI to being screened at cinemas around the country as part of #EatingDisordersAwarenessWeek.
You can find out more information about the upcoming conference here.
You can watch the Nexus short film on YouTube.