Canadian filmmaker tackles issues surrounding self-harm in new short film

Merging documentary and animation, director Alex Anna breaks the silence and stereotypes surrounding self-harm and mental health.

Her newest film ‘Scars’ was entered into this years Toronto International Film Festival and for Anna it was a dream come true, “TIFF is one of the biggest festivals in the world and their selection of films (of any length) is always of the highest quality. A large majority of my favourite films have been screened at TIFF.”

Anna says for years she’s been wanting to make a film about people who self-harm, “It was something I experienced and felt was very little represented. For me, making films is always about trying to make things change, little or big. I hope that people that have struggled or still struggle with self-harming can feel less lonely, and see that it’s possible to heal; and I hope that people who didn’t understand it can have a better idea of what it can feel like, and how important it is to reach out and open the dialogue.”

The 10 minute short shows Anna’s body as a canvas with her scars coming to life in animation to tell a new story of self-harming.

The Canadian director says the merger of these two film styles was to project contrast with the raw audio material that plays over the picture.

“I’ve been looking for a way to tell a complex story of beauty and violence; for it was for me the essence of my experience with self-harm. The animation as well as the poetry came organically in the project to contrast the raw audio material: while the voice tells us about suffering and not coping with reality, the animations tell us about surviving and healing through art.”

The film required over 10 weeks to create and was created in secret. Anna says this was the best way in order to be protected from pressure or unwanted comments from family and friends.

Anna says the ongoing pandemic created some filming difficulties due to physical distancing.

With COVID19 pushing TIFF online this year, Anna wants to encourage people to reach out and share their comments about the films they watch from home, “Since we cannot meet you in person at screenings, it means the world to us to know about your feelings or questions about our work. I must also add how encouraging and nice it is to see that people are actively participating in the online short film festivals events.”

You can also follow Anna’s film journey on Instagram or on Facebook.