A hard hitting advert created by Time to Change, England’s mental health anti-stigma programme, is set to take America by storm after being re-worked by the US anti-stigma campaign founded by Hollywood actress Glenn Close. The new advert aimed at American audiences will feature the actress and her sister and nephew who both have mental health problems.
‘Schizo: The Movie’ was developed by Time to Change and used as part of the campaign in England, which is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The award-winning advert was placed in cinemas and online to challenge the stereotype linking people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia to violence, which often appears in movies.
Now, Bring Change 2 Mind, a national anti-stigma campaign working across America, will bring the transatlantic export to American audiences to address the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems, which is a global issue.
‘Schizo: The Movie’ was originally created in 2009 featuring Stuart who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and imagery that borrowed heavily from dark and sinister horror movies. Glenn Close herself has spoken previously about the role the film industry can have in perpetuating stereotypes.
The advert was a hit in the UK with over 446,000 people seeing the trailer and it won ‘Best Use of Video’ at the 2010 Revolution Awards. It also resonated with the target audience with one person saying: ““People with mental illness are not all axe wielding maniacs as portrayed in films and popular culture but are normal people”.
Glenn Close appears in the re-make alongside her sister Jessie Close and nephew Calen Pick, both of whom live with mental health problems. Glenn will launch the US version today on the Katie Couric Show at 4pm EST (9pm GMT).
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “Having Glenn’s campaign reproduce ‘Schizo: The Movie’ is a tribute to anti-stigma work in England. We shared the results of our advert with her and agreed for its use in their campaign. This advert was designed to reach a younger male audience, and it did this particularly well. I’m confident that it will now be an effective way of reducing stigma with US audiences and wish the Bring Change 2 Mind campaign well.”
Leading Hollywood actress, Glenn Close, said: “We’re very proud of our partnership with the Time to Change campaign in England. Jessie and Calen are the ones who have actually had to live through it, so I am here to support them, and hopefully through their story and through our story as a family, we can really get this country past the tipping point where people can talk openly, without shame and without fear, about something which is so common to most families.”
Time to Change has helped to develop several campaigns in other countries including the US, Denmark, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands.
Find out more about Bring Change 2 Mind
The original film, which was produced with funding from the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief, can be viewed on the Time to Change website . The brand new American version is also available now
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For more information please contact Hayley Richardson-Roberts, Time to Change Senior Media Officer, on 0208 2152 358/ 07789 721 966
Notes to Editors
Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief.
Department of Health
On 2 February 2011 the Department of Health launched No health without mental health, a cross-government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages which has the twin aims of keeping people well and improving their mental health and, when people are not well, improving their outcomes through high-quality services.
The strategy is based on six shared objectives, developed with partners from across the mental health sector, and focuses on ‘Recovery’ and the reduction of stigma and discrimination as overarching themes.
To help deliver the objective to reduce the stigma faced by people with mental health problems, in 2011 the Department agreed to support Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The Department of Health is providing the campaign with up to £16 million of funding together with a further £4 million from Comic Relief. This funding will help Time to Change continue their work until March 2015.
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is committed to supporting people living with mental health problems. The projects Comic Relief funds ensure people with mental health problems get their voices heard in the decisions that affect their lives and get the help they need to recover. Comic Relief also helps people to promote their rights and reduce the stigma and discrimination they face so that they feel more included in society. The £4 million grant to Time to Change is the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant and is part of Comic Relief's long standing commitment to this issue.