Documentary sponsored by Counselling Directory
Awarded to a full length documentary or compilation of excerpts from a series that observe and report real life situations and stories. This also includes observational 'fly on the wall' formats.
Winner: Girls on the Edge
Dragonfly Film and Television, BBC Two
Girls on the Edge looks at how being sectioned indefinitely under the Mental Health Act has impacted the lives of three teenage girls, their parents and siblings. Told with raw honesty, this film aims to remove shame and stigma surrounding mental illness and to explore some of the pressures on young people as they grow up.
Shortlisted entries
Charlotte Church: Inside My Brain
Boom Cymru, BBC Wales
Driven by her passion for science and her mother's experience of depression, Charlotte Church embarks on a scientific journey to uncover the truth about mental health. The film follows Charlotte as she explores the research being carried out at the National Centre for Mental Health into the role of our DNA on our mental health.
Kingdom of Us
Pulse Films, Netflix
Kingdom of Us sensitively examines a family's collective recovery following their father's suicide. Filming over three years, Lucy Cohen documents the lives of a mother and her seven children exploring the themes of grief, identity and family bonds.
Incorporating family archive footage and capturing the surrounding West Midlands landscape, the film records the siblings' emotional recovery, piecing together their broken past and contemplating fears and aspirations for their future.
Panorama: Men, Boys and Eating Disorders
BBC Wales
International rugby referee Nigel Owens meets men and boys with eating disorders, to hear first-hand the stigma they've battled to gain diagnosis and appropriate treatment. In the film, Nigel also opens up about his bulimia for the first time and his decision to seek professional help.
Zoe Ball's Hardest Road Home
BBC Studios
In May 2017 Zoe Ball's partner, Billy Yates, took his own life after a long battle with depression. Powerfully motivated by her loss and the stories of the people she meets, Zoe undertakes her toughest journey home. The documentary follows her, starting in Blackpool, as she cycles 352 miles across five days to her hometown of Brighton to raise awareness of male mental health.
