Portraying mental health in Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World

14 February 2013

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Viv Fongenie started as a journalist on the NME where reviewing fiction, film and theatre. Viv’s first micro-budget feature Let’s Stick Together (1999) won several accolades including Best Film, at international film festivals. Viv has developed original feature scripts with Film 4, the BBC and the UK Film Council.

Fruitcake Films is a British production company that is passionate about developing original, edgy British films and working with fresh, young talent. For each project Fruitcake is focused on bringing together a cast and crew committed to making quality British cinema.

As well as being a film-maker, I have a background as a mental health professional and one of the things this has enabled me to do is craft a story with a certain degree of authenticity.

The world of psychosis is hugely complex and obscure and I think very few films have attempted to portray it in a real, genuine way. So far, the consensus is that we’ve managed to do that successfully, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about this film.

Filmed in a rapid four weeks, the film relays the mental collapse and general downward spiral of the  protagonist, Ollie Kepler, (Edward Hogg,) after he loses the love of his life unexpectedly (Noreen, played by one of the UK’s hottest talents, Jodie Whitaker).

In the face of love lost, Ollie Kepler plunges deeper into his own private reality, drifting further from his friend, Tom (Andrew Knott), who fights a desperate battle to hold on to him. Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World focuses on the intense yet tender tale of friendship, loyalty and love between two lonely young men, both with the world on their shoulders.

Though never preachy or solemn, we hope our film helps to increase people’s understanding of mental health, a subject that is rarely, if ever, talked about.

Working alongside mental health service users you quickly realise that many people with a mental health diagnosis face two quite distinct problems. The first is actually dealing with the symptoms of their diagnosis. The second – and this is often a bigger challenge – is dealing with the public’s perception of them. Its a perception that is largely governed by ignorance and fear, is hugely negative, and can drive service users into greater isolation and despair, which in turn compounds their own ‘illness’.

Outside of film, Viv continues practicing as a mental health consultant. His extensive work in the world of mental health includes the publication of papers for the Home Office as well as several other articles and booklets. In 2005 he made Troubled Minds, a documentary focusing on psychiatric services and the Black community. He continues to develop projects and provide training to mental health professionals on innovative, alternative approaches to traditional psychiatric interventions.

Screenings of Ollie Kepler’s Expanding Purple World, are taking place at select cinemas across the country from Monday 18 Feb – Thursday 21 Feb. For further information please visit www.olliekepler.com

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