Building
Resilience
Client: Samaritans
A series of short films for schools, helping teach young people about their emotional health.
Challenge
The Samaritans approached us to create a series of short films that connect directly with young secondary school children to help them explore their mental health. These films needed to be authentic and relatable, avoiding any sense of talking down to the children.
Services
Research & Development / Focus Groups / Concept / Creative Direction / Scriptwriting / Casting / Filming / Editing
Our unique approach
We wanted to create really authentic and relatable films that spoke to young secondary school children about mental health. We began by spending time with young people by setting up some focus groups in various schools. We then spent time learning about their anxieties and the language they used. We then developed a script that was powerful and reflected the stories they told.
We decided to make two films. One dramatised film capturing a few of those real stories and one spoken word
Our production team cast young actors and created a fully dramatised story that would resonate with young people.
Results
The Samaritans were thrilled with the final series of films we created. They hosted a special screening event for charities, decision makers, and young people affected by mental health struggles. The films were then distributed across the UK for screening in schools. Young people who viewed the films gave us feedback that they found them relatable and inspiring.
They are still to this day being shown in schools to help young people talk about their emotional health.
“Northern Heart was in constant communication with us and ensured that we were happy with every stage of the production.
The final films are of very high quality, meet the briefs and have had an amazingly positive response form the targeted audience.
They are powerful and thought provoking.”
Karen Harvey, Samaritans
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