Are we OK? Animators on mental health [LIAF 2025]

December 20th, 2025

I had the privilege to catch some livestreams from the tail end of the London International Animation Festival 2025 at short notice this month, thanks to a recommendation from Animatortor in the Stop Motion Skool i’m a part of. This post is part of a series, capturing my recollections and reflections on what I heard.

Saint John Walker, Programme Leader for postgraduate media at the University of Hertfordshire, hosted a panel featuring three filmmakers: Gaïa Grandin Mendzylewski, Jelena Milunovic, and Robert Glassford, aka Mr Kaplin.

Gaia’s third film, Hi, how are you?, is about her experience living with social anxiety, while Jelena’s Floating explores her relationship with her father and his mental illness, and Robert’s film, What does it feel like to have ADHD?, navigates the journey both he and his daughter have been on together.

The conversation opened by asking the panel how they thought animation could address the stigma that still surrounds mental health, and how sharing their experiences through animation might have proven helpful. As someone who has experienced my own struggles with my mental health, I was very interested to hear how this medium could be a means of self-expression and the concerns and considerations that came with that.

Gaia felt that the stigma associated with mental health was a generational thing, that times were changing. You don’t need a diagnosis to still experience difficulties, and younger generations are more open to talking about these. Jelena and Robert shared that animation, being such a unique medium, allows us to share what our experiences feel like, while also being able to tackle difficult subjects in a way that is friendly and approachable.

Gaia said that pitching her story allowed her to recognise that she wasn’t alone, that others experienced similar anxieties. The reassurance of being understood and seen. Similarly, Robert found that making their film helped them relate to their daughter’s journey as well as their own. It sounded like it gave them both a vehicle to navigate what they were going through.

Jelena felt that sharing their experiences helped them feel more connected to others, though they did point out that, for them, it was necessary to be comfortable with their subject before they could share it. I found this interesting and something I want to think about some more. My own mental health journey has been a difficult one of trauma, loss, and low self-esteem. I’m comfortable talking about this and I would like to explore it through animation someday, but I can’t yet picture how it would translate to animation in a way that is not only helpful for me but also my audience.

The conversation moved to considering your audience. Gaia and Robert both experienced their filmmaking as something they made for themselves, without much concern for an audience. However, in each their own way, they felt this was something to consider for future projects. Gaia suggested that, having since worked with a producer, it was helpful to have someone who can recognise when you’re in your own head and help you communicate your ideas more clearly. Jelena was more tactical with how much their audience affected their work. They found it helpful to have an audience in mind, but to seek feedback as needed, and only take on board what’s useful.

When asked what advice the filmmakers would give to people worried about making films about their mental health, all were adamant that it was very beneficial, both for the creative and their audience.

Its healthy. It’s very healthy to express how you’re feeling. You have no idea the impact your film will have on others. Also that feeling that you’re not alone and can get everyone talking about these things. - Robert Glassford

Jelena suggested that the work could be seen as an experience itself, seperate from the individual, and that’s what people would pay attention to. Intimacy, felt Gaia, is a powerful method of communication - a universal story - that you can dig deeper into because its about you.

They all felt that humour could play a part when sharing such personal, difficult experiences. Rather than being something that detracts from or trivialises the experience being shared, according to Gaia, humour can bring sincerity to your story. They felt there can often be humour even in the most sad times, a sentiment I think we can all relate to.

As to whether there is a lack of animated films about mental health, there was a mix of thoughts. For some, there was still stigma attached to mental health that perhaps meant people steered away from it as a subject. For others the way we as a society think about our mental health has evolved over time from a collective issue to something much more individualistic, with a focus on the individual as the problem. In recent times, the experiences people had during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was suggested, might be a catalyst for more exploration of our mental health through animation.

Each of the filmmakers were then invited to talk about their latest projects and share more of their process. It was inspiring to hear Jelena talk about how much the metaphor of floating informed their film. They shared that they hadn’t planned to make a film about something that had happened to them years previous, but that once the idea formed, the metaphor helped to flesh it out.

After I came up with a metaphor of floating, that was the main idea - a human being, a floating balloon - the rest fell into place. It all had a base in real life, but I was trying to mask it a bit or interpret it into something visual. - Jelena Milunovic

Robert shared that, while they use digital 3D in their work, they would challenge the idea that it’s a less emotive medium - they suggested Pixar’s Up as a film that is highly emotive - but they did concede that they had included hand drawn elements in their film to bring it some warmth. Meanwhile, Gaia shared that they had found 3D useful for experimenting with comics and quickly creating storyboards and backgrounds. They felt it had a lot of humourous potential.

During the Q&A portion of the session, I asked whether as animators the panelists felt they had a responsibility to how their work might be received by their audience. I don’t think I expressed my question well - I meant a responsibility to do no harm - but the answers were insightful all the same.

Gaia felt that they had a responsibility to be subjective - their films are about them - and to avoid presenting their own feelings as objective fact. To avoid causing offence by taking such a stance. This really resonated with me, given my work in digital accessibility. We always say, for example, that if you’ve met one disabled person, you’ve met one disabled person. No two people’s experiences are the same. I think it is important to be both authentic in sharing your experience, while also being mindful not to diminish the experiences of others.

Jelena felt that they had a responsibility towards how other people were presented in their film. They described almost being a custodian of how they could be perceived, and minimising risk by presenting things from their own point of view. Something I think I would need to reconcile with my own storytelling is how to share things that happened to me, while considering the very real impact they had on people around me, and what harm might be caused were they be expected to relive that period of my life.

Robert gave a sense that you may not always be able to forsee how your audience will receive your story. However, ultimately they felt it was important to be true to yourself.

The discussion ended with the panelists invited to share the animators and styles that have influenced them. Suggestions included Hayao Miyazaki, David O’Reilly, (sic) Urika Meusasha, as well as Soviet and Hungarian animation, and looking at other mediums to avoid becoming oversaturated by animation alone.

Lastly they were invited to signpost organisations and charities that they’d recommend, with Gaia highlighting Les Intervalles, an association that highlights abuse and discrimination in the French animation film industry. Meanwhile, Robert shared that he is working with The Yard charity in Scotland that supports families with disabled children.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to catch this panel live. It was a really insightful and inspiring session, and I hope my recollections have done justice to the panellist’s thoughts. I’m looking forward to exploring more of their works.

Daniel Mclaughlan