The monthly conversations organised by the Sahara Centre, a co-working space in the heart of Lagos will be tackling mental health in the month of February. Popularly known as Conversations at Indigo, the gathering will see filmmaker Demilade Ademuson speak expansively on the topic ‘Beyond the Physical: Mental Health and Film’.
“In this conversation, we’ll explore what mental illness can look like and how it has been depicted over the years through film and art. And lastly, why there can be liberation in showing your shadow side more,” says Ademuson who is a Lagos-based filmmaker and writer.
His works are known to cover a wide range of subjects that centres around humanness and the in-between state of our being.
Some of the touch points that will be plumbed in the conversation include, creating awareness of mental health, addressing mental health issues, surviving in a bustling city like Lagos as well as coping mechanisms that have worked for individuals.
Guests will also have the opportunity to access materials from Guy Winch, a notable psychologist who addressed psychological-health issues in his TED Talk ‘Why We Need to Practice Emotional First Aid’ and from Sangu Delle, the Ghanaian entrepreneur and investor on how he handled anxiety in a society that is uncomfortable with his emotions.
Ademosun addressed some of the mental health issues in a recent book adaptation of a short film he produced titled ‘It Is Not Yet My Turn To Die’. In the book, he talks about how he’s been able to deconstruct elements of mental health and personify it in a way to understand and deal with the issues we grapple with navigating youth, life, Lagos, Nigeria.
The conversation will take place tomorrow, February 8 at the Sahara Centre in Ebute Metta, Lagos. The discussion is free to attend but interested participants will have to register on the organisers’ website.