Scottish Mental Health Festival Film 2026
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2026
In 2026, the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) celebrates its 20th year, an opportunity to recognise two decades of mental health and creativity.
The theme for this milestone year, Reflections, invites artists, communities and audiences across Scotland to pause, take stock and explore how experiences, stories and creativity shape our mental health, individually and collectively.
The full programme will take place across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, with features, shorts and classic films exploring mental health through bold, imaginative and deeply personal cinema.
Films at Glasgow Film Theatre
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning ·
Mon, Nov 2, 2026, 6.50 p.m.
A special preview screening of the highly anticipated new film from acclaimed British filmmaker Clio Barnard.
Adapted from Keiran Goddard’s award-winning novel, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning interweaves five poignant stories of childhood friends struggling to find their way and dreams of fulfilment amidst the stark realities of the UK housing crisis.
Growing up on a Birmingham estate, childhood friends Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli, and Conor were inseparable – playing together, skipping school, and imagining the bright futures awaiting them. But as they reach their thirties, reality sets in, and the dreams that once felt so close now seem further away than ever.
Followed by a Q&A with Chris Leslie, an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and director based in Glasgow. His work documents urban transformation and the experiences of marginalised communities, spanning Glasgow, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Africa, and Asia. His acclaimed project Disappearing Glasgow chronicles the city’s socio-spatial changes, while A Balkan Journey explores post-conflict recovery over 30 years. Leslie’s photography is held in the National Galleries of Scotland, and his essays regularly feature in The Guardian. His debut feature film Finding Family (2014) won two Scottish BAFTA New Talent Awards, and his current TV documentary, The Partisan Necropolis (2026), examines contested heritage in post-conflict Mostar, Bosnia.
Thorntree – Wednesday 4 November, 2026. 8.15 p.m.
The debut feature from Edinburgh-based filmmaker Isaac Knights-Washbourn is an intimate and deeply human portrait of Thorntree, Rowan Alba’s pioneering supported accommodation for alcohol-dependent men. Rejecting conventional abstinence models, it enables residents to take control of their recovery without judgement or stigma.Knights-Washbourn’s camera offers a compassionate yet unsparing look at the men of Thorntree as they navigate the complex journey towards sobriety, guided by the unwavering support of the staff. The film closely follows their setbacks and triumphs, capturing the realities of recovery with rare emotional resonance.
A Woman Under the Influence + discussion
Sun, Nov 8, 2026, 3.30 p.m.
A landmark achievement from visionary filmmaker John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence is widely regarded as his greatest and most emotionally powerful work.
The film is anchored by Gena Rowlands’ electrifying and fearless portrayal of Mabel Longhetti, a loving yet fragile housewife and mother whose struggle with severe mental health challenges creates a heartbreaking portrait of vulnerability.
Her husband, Nick – brought to life with raw intensity by the brilliant Peter Falk – finds himself tragically unequipped to understand or support her.
We are immersed in Mabel’s gradual unraveling as she wrestles with loneliness, society’s expectations, and her desperate search for connection, making this an early and deeply authentic exploration of mental health on screen.
Includes a post-screening discussion exploring the history of women’s mental health representation in film with Cheryl McGeachan, a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Glasgow. As an historical and social geographer her work specialises in the lived worlds of mental ill-health and distress in historical and contemporary contexts. Of particular interest are voices and experiences of mental health that have been overlooked, ignored and forgotten.
Screening as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. Check out our full programme See full programme.
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