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On The Couch With My Depression

Angharad Gladding
New Zealand, 2020, 6 min.

In English.

Full of excited anticipation, a poet plans to go to a book party. Then along comes depression. A film about yearning simply to be able to clean your teeth and leave the house. Based on the poem "I was going to go to Dorothea Lasky’s book party in Brooklyn, but instead I stayed on the couch with my depression, not crying" by Paula Harris

Director's Statement

I’ve always used different mediums of art to express my views on mental health. I’ve always felt a little out of place myself with the stigma that surrounds anxiety and depression in society. This poem in particular resonated with me. It was so real and raw in its portrayal of struggling with depression. I felt I’d found another kindred spirit, who like me, wanted to paint mental health struggles as they really are in their natural form. I wanted to transform that realness and rawness into a visual representation to be used to reach a wide range of individuals.

Category: Experimental.