A Film About Love: AWI Winning Filmmaker Interview

A Film About Love – a story of friendship, adventure, love and loss – was added to the OLIVE Film Collection February 2016 and created by Dale John Allen from Brighton, UK. The film challenges stereotypical representations of mental health issues seen in mainstream media, and provides unique insight into the experience of an individual living with bipolar disorder trying to navigate the changes he’s facing in his own life.

AWI: What compelled you to create A Film About Love?

Dale: I made A Film About Love as a way of expressing my feelings towards my diagnosis, which at the time I saw as a major threat to my mania. As someone who’s always been creative I found the side effects of my medication really blocked that part of my brain – the piece evolved out of the anger I felt towards the medication I’d been prescribed, writing was the only thing that ever really came natural to me so, to me, it felt like writing a diary. I wanted the film to end that anger and ultimately give me back what I thought I’d lost after my diagnosis. But in doing the film I’ve realized that a diagnosis of Bipolar is something that will not go away, it’s something I can’t make a film about and that be the end of it. Instead I’ve learnt that although I can’t erase bipolar from my life, I can move on and accept it.Bipolar has become a part of who I am – not who I am, but it’s a part of me, something I’m learning to manage everyday.

I almost felt as though this film was like ripping off a plaster, exposing every detail of my struggle, and with it out in the open I can make a new start and live in a honest way with myself.

AWI: How did you hear about our monthly short film competition?

Dale: A guest speaker at my university, who I showed a rough cut of the film to, made me see it in a new light, a positive thing to come out of such a negative experience, and an experience that I wanted to share in order to accept it and move past it. We searched for mental health organizations that worked with filmmakers and came across AWI. I finished the film (which is actually 10 minutes but edited down to 5 for AWI) and entered the competition.

AWI: What has the win and addition of A Film About Love to AWI’s OLIVE Film Collection meant to you?

Dale: The win meant the world to me. Not only had I found a way to get this anger out but I’d found a way to be honest about my struggles. Most of my friends and family had not seen the film before I won the competition so it was an overwhelmingly positive experience to be able to share this part of my life with them in this way. The response I received was incredible.

For me, AWI and I share the same goal. The stigma around mental health and the portrayal in mainstream media can be so damaging for sufferers. It’s such a positive thing for an organisation like AWI to give people a platform to express themselves and to spread the message around. The films in the library are incredible and really do highlight a lot of things the mainstream media would ignore.

AWI: What’s next for you and your filmmaking career?

Dale: At the moment I’m working on some cool projects around representations within the LGBT community, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I still need to finish my degree. So be sure to watch this space:www.dalejohnallen.com 🙂

Watch A Film About Love below!

A Film About Love from Art With Impact on Vimeo.

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