Depression and its Effect on Families: How to Portray Young People with Depression in Film

This paper studies how film and television projects portray young patients with depression and the impact of depression on family relationships. Although depression has been repeatedly mentioned in film and television works, the setbacks in the acceptance stage still need to be considered and discussed. The study produced a 25-minute short film; then invited viewers aged around 25 and their parents to participate in an anonymous questionnaire survey after viewing the film. The research results suggest that the filmmaker’s approach to depicting emotion and authentic performances of the actors may improve the public’s acceptance and understanding of depression. However, the investigation may be limited by the nationality, the small number of respondents and the quality of the film. The results provide future researchers with possible ideas and cases.