• Release year: 2024
• Director: Sara Chitambo-Hatira.
• Producers: Catharina Weinek, Sara Chitambo-Hatira and Dumi Gumbi.
• Script Supervisor: Tiny Mungwe.
• Cinematography by: Tseliso Monaheng.
• Sound design and mixing: Michael Fawzy.

Shotgun Commentary: amazing informative resource with the potential to fix a great pandemic.

Review

Black People Don’t Get Depressed is a documentary that explains how POC’s relationship with mental health and the devastating consequences of being unwilling to face one’s trauma. Through interviews and the author’s own narration of her experiences, as well as the telling of specific events that have made it in the news, the director encourages POC to look within and shed the stigma of mental health.

The perfect structure

The piece is quite straightforward. It begins with the director talking about her background in terms of mental health and the reasons why she wants to make this film. Once that is settled, the movie moves onto the first interview, and many more after that one.

At first, one person talks about their relationship with depression and other mental disorders. Then, the director reveals a bit more about her experience and thoughts on depression. And right after, the next person is presented and says their piece. This goes on for a bit until we move onto the second half of the documentary, where we already know everyone taking part in the narrative and the statements and anecdotes move from person to person almost at random, giving the sensation of hearing just one communal voice.

This structure is incredibly clever considering the documentary’s aim. Much like it happens with taboo and stigma, hearing the same, or similar, things coming from a variety of people with whom you can relate, is powerful enough to make you want to reframe your way of thinking.

In that sense, the film is fighting fire with fire. That is, despite that enormous amount of people around you making you believe that having depression or any other mental disorder is shameful, that you should hide it and pretend it doesn’t exist, there is also a huge community of people who can inform you of the realities of mental health, realities that can, very literally, save your life.

A downwards spiral

The same community that has such a hard time acknowledging mental health as a natural circumstance, is also, in many cases, the responsible for the trauma that is causing the issues in the first place. As a community that has experience an unimaginable amount of violence and abuse, POC are amongst the people with more severe generational trauma. Both situations feed each other in an endless circle of trauma and pain.

People who struggle with mental health problems and don’t receive the proper attention will find their own ways of dealing with those problems. These coping mechanisms that can be more harmful than the main disease in the first place. Alcohol, self-harm, drugs and, ultimately, suicide, are amongst the most used. These behaviours affect, not only those who engage in them, but also all those around them. Growing up in a toxic environment like that creates tons of childhood and generational trauma. An issue that is further worsened if you live in a society in which you don’t feel safe.

What are men, anyway?

The documentary also offers some insight on gender differences regarding this issue. Even though men and women are equally affected by trauma and encouraged to suffer in silence in their communities, men have an extra difficulty when it comes to accepting these disorders: toxic masculinity.

Diseases have often been connected to strength, despite the weak reasoning behind this connection. It is widely known that most diseases, both physical and mental, have nothing to do with your physical strength. Still, mental health is regarded as a sign of weakness in many communities. This makes men feel ashamed of struggling, which only makes their chances of recovery even weaker.

All in all, Black People Don’t Get Depressed is a fantastic documentary that highlights a crucial issue. A problem that is not being acknowledged with enough strength. It is a complete and thorough overview of the causes and impact of mental health in POC communities. This makes it a must-watch for anyone who feels like they are struggling. A really informative piece that encourages people to take care of their mental health and that will hopefully save many lives in the long run.

If you are in London, you can now watch Black People Don’t Get Depressed at Film Africa on November 3th at 16:00!

Advice to take from this movie:

• Mental health has nothing to do with physical strength or gender.
• It is important to support your relatives, even if you can’t understand their struggles.
• It’s okay to feel bad, and it’s okay to ask for help.

What’s your take? Have you watched Black People Don’t Get Depressed? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀