BENGALURU: Young people are often encouraged to speak up when they are struggling, but what happens when they cannot find the words to express what they feel? And when they do speak, will the people around them listen without dismissing their concerns?
These questions form the premise of Unspoken, a youth-led film written and directed by 16-year-old filmmaker and researcher Imaan Zara Khan. The film follows four teenagers from different backgrounds who face emotional struggles they find difficult to articulate, highlighting the need for safer spaces where young people can acknowledge their distress and seek support.
Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, the film was screened in Bengaluru on Friday as part of an initiative to take conversations on student mental health beyond awareness campaigns. It will gradually be screened across 20 schools in Bengaluru, including government schools, under Project SAFE (Student Advocacy for Emotional Well-being).
The initiative also includes the development of a mental health first-aid programme intended to help teachers and students recognise signs of distress and respond appropriately.
“I think everyone tells young people to speak up, but they do not realise that sometimes there are no words to express what they are going through. Even if they find the courage to speak, are the people around them willing to listen, or will they dismiss them?” Imaan said.
The film follows four teenagers whose circumstances could hardly be more different. One is a popular social media influencer struggling with body image and self-confidence.
No hero moments: Film tackles ‘Unspoken’ mental health struggles of youth
Another is a boy from a middle-class family in Lucknow who wants to pursue art but faces expectations of conventional masculinity. A young aspiring runner from Assam grapples with the economic realities that make pursuing his ambitions difficult, while a girl at a boarding school struggles with loneliness and parental expectations. Their experiences differ, but their inability to express what they are going through connects them.
Imaan said she wanted the characters to resemble authentic students rather than portrayals of clinical diagnoses. The film does not offer dramatic turning points or easy resolutions to their problems. Instead, it seeks to create a moment of recognition for viewers who may see their own experiences reflected in the characters.
“I do not want there to be a big, dramatic hero moment. I want there to be a small moment of recognition. We need to create an environment where people can speak up and understand what they are going through without having to figure everything out by themselves,” she said.
The idea for the film emerged from observations of her peers and cousins. As she researched the subject further, Imaan said she became increasingly concerned about the stigma surrounding mental health and the social consequences young people often associate with seeking help.
Her work involved both primary and secondary research, including conversations with her parents and a survey of around 750 students on their mental health experiences. Imaan chose filmmaking as a medium because she believes personal stories can make emotional struggles easier to recognise than statistics alone. “Data does not really change behaviour. Stories do. The impact stories can have in driving change is different from a statistic that someone reads once or twice and then forgets,” she said.
Through the school screenings, Imaan hopes to study the impact of storytelling as an intervention within school mental health systems and use the findings to develop a framework for student well-being. Project SAFE brings together the film, discussions and the proposed mental health first-aid programme. The latter is aimed at helping students and teachers identify signs of distress, understand how to respond and support peers who may be struggling.