A student's fight to lessen the stigma attached to depression through film-making

University of Birmingham student writes a screenplay to help tackle and raise awareness on depression.

Image of the title sequence

Ten film makers and 6 actors/actresses came together over a period of 12 month, starting May 2016- May 2017, to create the film Forget Me Not, which was shared on YouTube on 2nd October 2017 and has generated over 600 views in two weeks. It tells the harrowing story of a teenage girl, Sephora, whose suffering from depression, while her best friend Cain – consumed by a life of his own, doesn’t spot the early signs of her depression. Fearful of the stigma attached to mental health, Sephora hides her condition. Isolated and withdrawn from those closest to her, she’s left with only a few options: keep on fighting, alone? Seek help or, find another way out?

The screenplay was written, co-produced and starred by Philosophy, Religion and Ethics BA student Stacey Duah. Her passion from reading and writing her own stories from a young age grew when moving to study in Birmingham, mixed with the connections she made while at the BFI Academy in 2013 she started making independent films continuously working on and developing her craft.

The cast and crew of Forget Me Not

The film was originally a story the 20-year-old had written at school:

“The actual name and vague idea came from a short story I’d written in my English (creative writing class) when I was in year 10. I was googling different kinds of flowers and I stumbled on the Forget Me Not flower and I was instantly intrigued by its significance and its meaning – it’s a flower of remembrance. I wrote a story about two star-crossed lovers almost like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet adaptation but in my story, only one of them dies – the girl.”

Five years later, after a conversation with her best friend and younger sister, she explored the idea of writing her own screenplay encapsulating depression and mental health, from her own personal experiences and from others she knows.

The young filmmakers love for the flowers came from a deep-rooted connection and interpretation of what she believes the flowers represent to her and the connection she feels they have to depression:

“Forget Me Nots are flowers of remembrance and I believe that anyone going through any type of struggle that might result in them choosing to take their own life ought to be remembered in a positive light – despite how things might have ended. The Forget Me Not flower was my main inspiration for the film, and that is why it’s a significant recurring motif throughout the film as you might have noticed. The flower represents life and all its goodness, but at the same time it also hints at loss and the importance of remembrance and commemoration.”

Despite the film being set and filmed in London, it was a culmination of her Birmingham experiences that inspired and drove the film. The Birmingham student was facing her own mental health issues while studying:

“My first year at university (in Birmingham) was one of the most challenging moments of my entire life. When you go to university you’re on your own – especially if it’s in a city completely different to where you were born and brought up in prior. I no longer had the distraction of family and friends (while at university) – I sort of came face to face with my “demons” and there weren’t really many people to talk to besides my best friend over the phone who studies in the opposite end of the country. Although, I faced many challenges during my first year of university, I also discovered myself.

Birmingham is one of the greenest cities I have been in, and whenever I felt like things were getting too much I’d take frequent walks in the parks nearby just to vent and clear my head. On one occasion, I was going through serious writers’ block for Forget Me Not and decided to take a walk in a nearby park (in Selly Oak). A few strides into the park I came across a patch of flowers – I’m not sure what they’re called but they were a bluish-purplish colour and they reminded me of Forget Me Nots and I was instantly filled with all these different ideas of where I could take the story. For that reason, I’d say that Birmingham – particularly my university experience, was definitely my muse.”

The film had a main purpose to lessen the stigma attached to mental health.

“The films’ purpose was to help tackle mental health amongst young people and try to decrease the stigma, as well as inform my peers about the issue as a whole.”

Duah is a big believer of films that provokes thought and reflection, rather than its existence being for the sole sake of entertainment. Her film helped her connect with others she didn’t know.

“I’ve had a handful of messages on Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram – some from

people I don’t personally know and have never met confiding in me about their own experiences with depression and mental health, what they thought of Sephora’s story in Forget Me Not and how they related to it. So, it’s definitely really inspiring when people connect and are moved by my work, because it means I’ve done something right … which was to provoke thought and self-reflection in my peers.”

With the help of her producer Tia Philips, production designer Conor Powell and director Riad Ahmed, she finished her script in three months, but it was The Noughts and Crosses trilogy by Malorie Blackman that was the backbone of the portrayal of two protagonists in the film – Sephora and Cain.

“Sephora – the main character in Forget Me Not represents the plight of the voiceless in society and for those people who feel as though their voices don’t matter or that they’re all alone.

Cain (Ishmel Bridgeman) and Jenk (Janel Ince) – I talk of the two collectively because they’re sort of a microcosm for society’s ignorance and disbelief when it comes to matters regarding mental health, a lot of the time. We live in a fast-pace world and everyone is so busy doing things that we often miss vital signs, especially when it comes to people in need such as our loved ones. I definitely wanted Cain and Jenk to sort of represent and reflect society’s absent-mindedness regarding mental health and the stigma surrounding it.

Samantha (Molly Wilsher) – one of the nicer girls on Sephora’s doorstep (a later scene in the film), represents hope because there are actually people in society who are advocates for tackling the stigmatization of mental health. Some people do actually care, and I think that Samantha reflects this balance really well.”

With not enough time the young screenplay writer wishes she could have developed the characters.

“We can be so quick to demonise people who miss the signs of their struggling loved ones, without sometimes stopping to think about what might be happening in their own lives. Jenk is one of my favourite characters in the story and I had a lot of fun developing him, so I would definitely – if I could like to add a scene or two whereby we get a glimpse into why he feels the way he does about mental health and why he’s so quick to dismiss Sephora’s plight and her own struggles.”

With it being a small-scale production Duah took on three different roles, having to face challenges with each role:

“Writer – essentially if there’s no writer then there’s no script, and if there’s no script then there’s really no film. So, I felt a huge lot of responsibility on my shoulders, people were counting on me to sit down and write the script and deliver the story in an authentic way. Writers-block can also be very difficult, trying to push forward and write something despite a lack of motivation at times, was definitely one of the challenges I faced as the writer on the project.

Actress – the acting part for me wasn’t too stressful, as I use to act before I got into filmmaking. The most challenging part for me was probably trying to separate my own life and experiences from that of Sephora – the character I was playing. Although Forget Me Not was partly inspired by my own experiences, my goal was to make sure that it wasn’t a replica of my life – because it’s not my life, it is Sephora’s life and her story and she’s a character in her own right and I was just a vessel and a means of portraying that story.

Co-producer – I’m quite an organised person, so I feel as though producing is something I’m

quite good at. I mostly produced in pre-production and post-production (alongside my producer of course) but then I had to stop producing completely, as the director wanted me to focus on getting into character. One of the hardest things was being on set and acting in a scene, seeing something – technical wise and feeling the urge to say something as a “co-producer”, but then remembering that I’m now the actor and that I need to trust my producer and the rest of my team to handle the situation. Separating the co-producing and the acting during actual production and filming was a massive challenge, but it wasn’t a hindrance and everyone was extremely supportive.”

As a lover and advocate for women in film the British filmmaker of Ghanaian West-African descent is a keen watcher of film director Shirley Frimpong-Manso who is a Ghanaian film director amongst others.

“She (Frimpong-Manso) directed one of my favourite films called ‘The Perfect Picture’ which I watched for the first time at quite a young age and she’s been a key figure in re-shaping the Ghanaian and West African film scene – amongst several others of course. Two other filmmakers I also look up to are Ava DuVernay who directed Selma and 13th documentary on Netflix and Amma Asante who directed A United Kingdom and Belle. My inspirations are all women of colour because they show me that anything is possible, despite your race or gender or even where you’re from. They represent everything I stand for and everything I hope to achieve as a filmmaker and even more. I think representation in the arts is so important and I’m so glad I have people that look like me that I can look up to.”

Currently in her final year of university, the young screenplay writer has more ideas developing but is now co-writing an extended short film/screenplay called “I’m Fine” with Sanchez Roberts. Another film on mental health but from a different angle and will be much longer – with more “fleshed out” characters and room for character development and exploration.

“I think that the audience will enjoy that, it’s a really relatable story. It definitely reflects my creative growth and maturity since I wrote Forget Me Not.”

To watch the short film 'Forget Me Not' click here.

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