The National Mental Health Film Festival, Screening the Mind, took place on October 19, 2025, at Bangalore International Centre in Domlur. The event drew attention to mental health issues through a carefully curated lineup of films and interactive exhibits.
Films started at 11 am with “Khidki,” a 16-minute Hindi short about an elderly man connecting with the outside world from his window. “Dhoosar,” a Marathi drama about Alzheimer’s, followed, giving a personal perspective on caregiving and family resilience.
After lunch, viewers saw “Invisible Chains,” an 18-minute Kannada documentary focusing on addiction recovery as part of the Drug-Free Karnataka campaign. “Enso,” a 30-minute Kannada film, explored family trauma and healing, while “Swagatam” depicted a young couple navigating schizophrenia in small-town Maharashtra.
The festival closed with “Margarita with a Straw,” a feature-length film that follows a young woman with cerebral palsy discovering her independence.
Attendees also browsed a bookstall curated by Bookworm, featuring titles about mental health and brain science. The NIMHANS Brain Museum held a hands-on pop-up exhibit from noon to 2 pm, offering visitors a unique view into human brain anatomy. The Parallel Cinema Club led post-screening discussions, encouraging dialogue on mental health themes.
Registration for the festival was available through the Bangalore International Centre website. The event brought together filmmakers, mental health experts, and the public to start open conversations about lived experience, stigma, and care.
The same selection of films was also screened at Mental Health Santhe 4.0 at NIMHANS Convention Centre that started the same week. The festival organizers hope to make Screening the Mind a regular feature in Bengaluru’s cultural and public health calendar.
Looking ahead, mental health–focused film events are set to continue across India in 2026, with organisers in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi planning multi-day festivals and travelling showcases that combine screenings, expert talks and youth engagement. These upcoming lineups suggest that initiatives like Screening the Mind are part of a wider, growing circuit of festivals using cinema to challenge stigma and keep mental health in the public conversation.
