A film produced by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture about the mental health experiences of four young people from Bradford that celebrates their positive stories of metal health wellbeing and creativity while challenging stigma. A young black man walks through a darkened auditorium. Title: This film contains honest, real-life stories told in young people’s own voices about mental health, which some viewers may find emotionally challenging As he opens a...

A film produced by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture about the mental health experiences of four young people from Bradford that celebrates their positive stories of metal health wellbeing and creativity while challenging stigma. A young black man walks through a darkened auditorium. Title: This film contains honest, real-life stories told in young people’s own voices about mental health, which some viewers may find emotionally challenging As he opens a door and walks into a meeting room, another black man talks in voiceover about how he believes that the biggest challenge for many young people is to find who they are. In a studio at Pirate Studio in Bradford he plays guitar and writes music on a computer and talks about how young people are asking questions about who they are. Over a montage of them two of the film’s participants, Usman and Billie, talk about their issues with anxieties. Title: Usman Coming to stand and look out through a large window at Heaton Mount, Usman talks in voiceover about his issues with social anxiety which started during the COVID lockdown. As he walks through the grounds of the manor house he talks about how his time at sixth form college triggered his anxiety and how he left it all went away. Title: Billie Sitting in a darkened room as she writes poetry onto a notepad, Billie talks about her experience of being bullied at school and how the teachers did nothing. She talks about how she began ‘acting up’ to hide how she was struggling and her decision to drop out rather than be thrown out of education. After explaining the challengers of finding a job with no qualifications, she goes onto talk about meeting a poet at a youth group and how she was persuaded to take up poetry and write about her metal health. With a smile she talks about an upcoming event in which she will be performing to two-hundred people. Title: Frederic Sitting in a car Frederic listens to music with a fiend. Getting out of the car the film changes to Frederic working DJ tables at Pirate Studio and talking in voiceover about leaving home at sixteen and getting into a three-year toxic relationship that led to him drinking heavily and taking drugs. At a music event Frederic speaks with friends some of whom play up for the camera. As another DJ gives a performance for the watching crowd Frederic films the event on his phone and talks in voiceover about turning his life around to produce music, stopping the drink and taking balloons and giving up partying. Title: Ovie In the studio at Pirate Studio Ovie works with a producer identified as the man seen at the start of the film who is helping him lay down a piece of music about his experience of moving to the United Kingdom from Nigeria. Looking out a window at sunset Ovie talks about the challenges of first coming to Britian, while in voiceover his producer talks about how music has always been a channel for healing seeing it as pain that turned into beauty. At the 29% Festival in Bradford Billie is invited on stage to perform. As she begins to read one of her poems she talks about how she would like to keep up performing. Over a final montage featuring Usman, Frederic and Ovie they each give their final thoughts on changing their lives, finding something they love and how to picture themselves five years in the future. Title: To find support for mental health visit Healthy Minds website healthyminds.services. Call Guide-Line for confidential, emotional support 08001 884 884 For urgent mental health support, call First Response 0800 952 1181 Or, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option Credit Directed by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi Produced by Frankie Wolfe-Cooke Title: Contributors Billie, Frederic, Munashe, Ovie, Usman Credit: Original Music “Gave You” by 3JoeBrownX “Happiness” by Ovie (Prod. MPtheHitMaker) Title: Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Creative Director Shanaz Gulzar Executive Producer Annabel Grundy Mental Health Engagement Lead Sara Robinson Bradford District and Craven Mind Head of Communications and Engagement Hayley Smith Director of Children, Young People and All-Ages Services Helen Ioannou Programme Director for Healthy Minds Sasha Bhat Head of Mental Health Joanne Tooby Special thanks to Hazera Uddin, Phil Kitson, Richard Cracknell, Isha Ali, Saoirse Teale, Lucy Cartwright, Chris McMahon, Rachel Temple, George Clarke Heaton Mount, Pirate Studios, The Events Place, the Modaressi family, CommonSpace End title: Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust. Healthy Minds. Bradford District and Craven Mind