Woven Threads, Val Morgan and UnLtd hosted Stories From Within.
Last Thursday, Val Morgan hosted a special screening event with Woven Threads and UnLtd to share Woven Threads’ short, animated documentary series, Stores From Within, which tells the stories of people living with mental health challenges in a creative and engaging way.
Before the event kicked off, attendees arrived for a light breakfast, before Managing Director of Val Morgan, Guy Burbidge opened the event, and welcomed all attendees, before handing it over to the CEO of UnLtd and MOOD Tea, Chris Freel, who shared some of the key findings of the Mentally Healthy Survey which tackles the mental health issues affecting the media, marketing and creative industry.
The panel, hosted by Chris, included:
Michi Marosszeky Co-Founder and Director of Woven Threads
Fred El Harris from Filmotion
Emma Paino who is part of the Mental Health Co-ordinating Council, Living Experience Supervision, and a Researcher at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Michi spoke through the purpose and what inspired Woven Threads before diving into the first video of panellist Emma and her story, where she also discussed how peer support and lived experiences help to change the approach to mental health treatment.
Michi and Fred then spoke in depth about the techniques of animation work of how each video actually comes to life, from the conceptualisation to the selection of artists and ensuring each storyteller’s journey was honoured in the most authentic way.
The second video that played on screen was of Olive, who had been in and out of hospital for several years with her mental health issues. This episode was one of the first stories from the Mental Health series which has also been acknowledged by numerous global festivals and the AACTA Awards.
Michi then went on to explain how bringing together indigenous story-telling and making an impact is part of Woven Threads’ mission, which is why they have recently partnered with Lifeline and the government to support messaging for 13YARN - Australia’s first national service of its kind for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island people in crisis. This came about after working with Deadly Connections Co-Founder Keenan Mundine.
Keenan's episode was then shown on screen, and Fred spoke through the process of how Keenan’s story was represented creatively through indigenous artists.
Michi then opened up to discuss the process of Woven Threads’ new series, Stories From Country, which is centred around breaking down stigma, creating connections and educating Australians about Indigenous communities.
To watch all of the Stories From Within episodes visit the link here.
To find out more about Stories From Country and to contribute to the episodes, visit the link here.
About Woven Threads.
Woven Threads is driven by a simple yet powerful mission: To inspire positive change in the world and spark vital conversations around the issues that deeply affect so many of us.
They weave together the threads that bind us as people and shine a light on mental health and social issues with unique and engaging animations that connect strongly, offering a pathway of support, action and hope. Drawing on the personal stories of both high-profile and everyday people, their openness, honesty and wisdom resonate with those who most need to hear these stories. Their unique animation style resonates with audiences and has proven research data that the animations contribute to demystifying the stigma and understanding of mental health.