Last year I took part in a film making project with the community group ‘Arts and Minds‘ of Leeds. A few of us, who were new to film-making were involved in this creative project which culminated in our short films being shown as part of last years Love Arts festival and The Leeds Film Festival – Film to Change event.
My film had a theme of emotional well-being and is about a woman who is struggling to manage stress and unhelpful patterns of thinking – which is causing her to be unhappy. However she manages to find some respite from this, watch and you shall find out….
THE PRESENT
The Present she unwraps is actually a gift which allows her to become more aware of The Present moment. We can worry about the future, ruminate about the past and dwell upon problems to the extent that it interferes with our quality of life and decreases our sense of well-being. This kind of thinking can be all-consuming and leave little space for anything else, which may leave us feeling depleted and stressed. Research has shown that purposefully paying attention to the present moment is a technique which can help to manage this. Once the woman in the film has opened the present – she is then able to appreciate the beautiful roses on her desk that she previously hadn’t noticed.
It’s not always easy to change the way we think or to manage difficult emotions but there are techniques which can help. I had recently attended a Mindfulness Meditation Course which was the inspiration behind the film.
Sophie MacWhannell is the actress who played the woman in the film. She is Leeds-based, very talented, passionate and extremely supportive. I am going to plug Sophie because she was so fantastic ! Not only has she acted in various plays and short films but she also performs as part of a comedy improvisation group called Monkeyheads AND is part of *Urban Sprawl. She recently performed with Urban Sprawl in the play; ‘Wrecked’ which was also part of the Love Arts Leeds festival. So if you need a talented and dedicated actress – look Sophie up!
Thanks also to Carl Allport, who was the course tutor and teaches at Leeds Metropolitan University, to Arts and Minds and also to Inkwell. Also thanks to everyone else who took part whose names are in the credits, it was very collaborative and nice to work in a great team.
Hope you enjoyed it, would love any feedback, thanks Vicky 🙂
Also If you are interested in taking part in the making of a film contact Arts and Minds.
*Urban Sprawl is Yorkshire’s only homeless theatre company. Formed in August 2004, we are committed towards using theatre as an arts engagement tool to help people affected by homelessness and related issues.Urban Sprawl meet every Monday at Multiple Choice 5-8 pm.If your interested in finding out more email us at urb@urbansprawl.org.uk
Leeds Wellbeing Web 