A new international short film series aimed at supporting global mental and emotional well-being. Lend toward action with Mindful Shorts:. Four of the six intended films are already accessible on-line free. And Unlikely Collaborators granted Salzman an additional $25,000 to finish the collection, following an initial grant she received in 2022.
Within the short film collection, Salzman discusses the emotional struggles experienced by all three age groups. She begins with elementary school pupils via the first film, Just Breathe, working with the emotion of anger, and her second film, Release, is about anxiety and geared toward the middle school crowd. The third film is Into Light, about teen depression, and A Good Day focuses on addiction to an adult audience in midlife. Salzman is now in production on a new film about grief and loss for an older audience- drawing inspiration from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which illustrates healing and rebuilding. The final film is on trauma with the young adult population. Each emphasizes how mindfulness practices enhance life throughout every developmental stage.
Unlikely Collaborators is a mission-driven nonprofit focused on personal and social narrative change. Its mission is to build self-awareness, free from stories of limitation but not separated from connection and self-acceptance. This is on the Perception Box™, designed by its founder Elizabeth R. Koch, which represents beliefs and experiences that create each person’s worldview.
“These short films can be valuable tools both in educational settings and at home, with free online access allowing us to reach a wider audience,” Bayer Salzman says. Koch adds, “These films embody our Perception Box work, giving viewers new insights into themselves and others.”
Bayer Salzman believes emotional intelligence is crucial to working with the challenges of complexity in today’s world. She also feels mental health is intricately linked to environmental wellbeing, even hinting that personal mindfulness might go hand-in-hand with efforts to combat climate change. The Mindful Shorts series can be viewed on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram.
