In recent years, the number of diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has skyrocketed. What are the reasons? Does a society geared towards efficiency use the label ADHS to weed out anyone who does not fit its frames? What are the consequences of the fact that medication treatment has become almost ubiquitous? Could Ritalin and the like have become the doping of the performance society?
Jamais Mieux
In response to a humorous and heartfelt letter that he sent to his son in high school to wish them good luck in their GCSE exams, M.J Connor decides to respond to their Dad’s letter by surprising him with a documentary they made about their relationship with him and their mental health. M.J suffers with MADD (Mixed and Anxiety and Depressive Disorder) and Combined ADHD. In the film, they use dramatisations and scenes where they talk directly to their Dad in order to get him to understand what they go through on a daily basis, but to also thank him for everything he’s done for always being there and supporting them every step of the way.
Education specialist Sofie is starting a class to offer gifted children education at their own level. But will Sofie be able to overcome the resistance to her way of working? Explora, a special class for gifted children, was started in Breda, set up by Sofie on behalf of two schools. She is a specialist in giftedness in children and notices that this group is often not recognized, even though they have the same problems as children who cannot cope with the educational level, such as dropout, boredom and depression.
Recently diagnosed with ADHD, a symphony conductor uses the career shutdown of the 2020 pandemic to dive into her mental health. She looks for ways to face the challenges and honour the gifts of being neurodiverse.
Mitt huvud är en torktumlare
Fühlen Wie Ein Ozean
A compelling presentation by Sue Dengate exploring how food additives and chemicals impact children's health, learning, and behaviour. The film combines insightful interviews with families and experts, offering support and information on managing food-related behavioural issues.
Adam Conover talks about society’s short attention span, prescription drugs, and American car culture.
Alma (20), who has ADHD, works as a beekeeper but dreams of a life in the city. The day before her university exam, Pietro, her father, expresses his concerns about his daughter’s future. During the test, Alma struggles against the distractions caused by her condition but is interrupted by a tender memory: a bee buzzing around her. This event takes her back in time, to her first encounter with the beehives. What at first seems chaotic reveals itself to her as the most intelligent of natural structures.
When her barrettes mess up her pirouettes, an excitable, hyper-focused Black girl must power through the distractions -- and her mother's expectations -- to fly like the ballerinas do.
What if ADHD was not a disorder, but rather a set of traits of a type of brain that functions differently than the non-ADHD brain? What if ADHD is genetic and handed down by generations of hunters? What if all ADHD is, is a condition caused by a society that tries to fit hunters into a farmer's world? The label "ADHD" has run its course.
After turning in his fourth late assignment, Sam is sent to his university's counsellor, Dr Miller. Struggling to focus and sit still, Sam reveals how his love for music and all things practical was neglected by his parents, who eventually pushed him into theoretical subjects he can't excel in. When the counsellor suspects he has ADHD, Sam reveals that he sometimes feels all his annoying impulses could be best described as an irritating "shadow"; a loud, brightly-dressed version of himself who never leaves him alone. She then asks Sam to recount the day when the "Shadow" led him through London, prioritising trivial tasks over his assignment, ultimately leading him to not hand it in on time.
An experimental short film about sensory seeking behaviour in childhood. Filmed on VHS.
ADHD is a very complicated thing, and it is very hard to explain, especially to those without it. This film takes you through common experiences that come with the disorder.
Resident Evil featurette.
An unflinching & inspiring feature documentary that examines the experiences of 22 Los Angeles community members & leaders through this historic time and the lessons learned from their forebears of the HIV/AIDS pandemic & COVID – 19, including the use of “Expanded Access” program championed during the AIDS crisis by ACT UP” to the CoVID 19 vaccines. “PROUD in a Pandemic” captures a moment in time when despite these struggles, the breadth and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community is becoming more connected and united than ever before. The PROUD in a Pandemic film is a time capsule of stories about the innovation, survival, and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.
In the middle of June the village of Santo Antonio de Mixoes da Serra in the Valdreu region of Northern Portugal honours its Patron Saint with a very special festival. On this day the local farmers bring their animals to the church – cows, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits – to be blessed. This ancient tradition is passed from generation to generation, and today, just as hundreds of years ago, animals and people flock up the mountain roads to the church square to become a part of the religious festival. The film is about this miracle.
Rock and roll's part in bringing down the Berlin Wall and smashing the Iron Curtain is told from the perspective of rockers who played at the time, on both sides of the Wall, and from survivors of the communist regimes who recall the lifeline that rock music provided them.
Israeli director Natalie Assouline chronicles the lives of women, mostly young mothers, in prison for involvement in failed suicide attacks/terrorists attacks in Israel. Filmed over two years, this portrait strives to unearth the motivations behind their crimes. With the women's heads and feelings firmly covered, the film reveals no answers, just the heart-breaking tension between humanity and ideology.