Believe Psychology Film Festival

Welcome to Believe Psychology Film Festival and Screenwriting Contest! Make your mark on the history of cinema by including your film or screenplay in a celebration of movies and stories influenced by psychology.

HISTORY:
Psychology has been a part of the film industry since the 1930s-1940s. As the field of psychology became popular in the United States, Hollywood began producing a large number of psychological movies reflecting both psychopathy (mental illness) and the healing effects of psychology (mental health) in people’s lives. Today, the topic of psychology and mental health has received national attention and movies reflecting psychology are needed for widespread distribution.

Both internationally and within the US, we find filmmakers, directors, writers and producers like yourself contributing your vision of how psychology influences modern day storylines.

MISSION:
Believe Psychology Film Festival aims to promote films and screenplays that include dynamics of psychology and portrays them with honesty and compassion. We are looking for films and scripts that address, depict, represent, tell the story, show, highlight, teach, expose, explore, offer guidance, celebrate and/or raise awareness about topics related to psychology.

Themes of psychology are varied and multifaceted. It is not limited to stories labeled mental health or mental illness. It includes stories of everyday life. Psychology movies tell stories of joy, disappointment, triumph, loss, perseverance, hardship, and growth while exploring the complexities of interpersonal relationships. We are looking for stories that capture a peek into the lives of their characters and expose viewers to their unique perspective.

The path to reducing stigma toward the field of psychology is to increase the number of stories being told that are influenced by psychological themes and to do so with compassion and honesty. We invite filmmakers and screenwriters to share their artistic contributions and inspire a world to a deeper understanding of the human capacity.

HYBRID APPROACH:
The pandemic changed the world and subsequently changed the production of artistic festivals. In the last year, festivals have adjusted by shifting from in-person to online screenings. We have had success with the online platform and yet cannot deny the value and specialness of live in-person events. For this season, we have decided to offer both live in-person and online screenings within a hybrid model.

To be clear, THIS EVENT IS A LIVE IN-PERSON EVENT that will offer official selected films an opportunity to ALSO be screened online if interested but not required. Live shows are often limited by theater space. We aim to utilize the lack of restriction in the online platform by inviting all the films that are eligible. Therefore, there will be some official selection films that are invited to be screened online only. However, all films that are officially selected are eligible for awards in their category. Take note of the Grand Prize Award categories that includes premium prizes and gifts.