PSA Online Campaign
Director | Editor | Jesse Mann
Director of Photography | Karl Janisse
Producer | Anna Jane Edmonds
Production Company | BlackOut Media
Composer | Rebecca Everett
The Love Yourself campaign was an online PSA outreach project I developed and released in 2018 with Blackout Media and the UR Enough organization in support of mental health awareness—asking 17 people in Toronto, from different age groups, backgrounds, and experiences to ask themselves a potentially life-changing question: “Do you love yourself?”
The resulting stories that each individual I spoke with shared with us, revealed both shared and unique experiences with mental health, but
all stories were connected by the courage and resilience of each person.
O u r f i l m :
I have a deep personal connection to all of the discussions I had with each individual, as I have struggled with depression and anxiety at various times in my life, and the concept of self-love is something I have to confront. There was so much empathy and connection felt during the conversations I had with everyone, and I was brought to tears many times—sometimes this was a connection to their sadness and a remembering of these shared feelings, and sometimes they were tears of sheer awe and inspiration at their courage and strength.
For further release and social engagement, we also created a teaser and shorter pieces which focused on different themes.
C h a n g e :
T r u t h :
C o u r a g e :
T e a s e r f i l m :
I was encouraged by the willingness of each person to share their stories with me, and with the public, in the hopes that it might help someone who otherwise would feel alone with their thoughts, emotions and experiences with mental health. There was a energy to the day that felt a bit like we were cracking open the hearts of everyone lucky enough to be in the studio together that day—those we were interviewing, myself, crew—we were all feeling it.
Behind-the-scenes:
UR Enough:
UR Enough founders Mandi Nicholson and Kelsey Sick.
