The Whisper in my Ear

Submitted by: Joe Eastley on July 29, 2016

A friend of mine was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 years old. As you’d imagine it was an incredibly tough time for him, having to come to terms with such a cruel, mind-twisting illness. He’s currently on medication and is coping really well, the way he managed to take it on the chin stay strong was truly inspiring.

He often describes his condition as like having a voice in his head, altering the way he sees things and interprets things. Regardless of how hard he tries to hold onto reality, the voice always wins. I found his description incredibly interesting and compelling, so as a result I decided to focus my final year A-Level media project on schizophrenia and the concept of having a voice in your head. With that, my short piece ‘The Whisper in my Ear’ was born.

I wanted to keep my film close to home, similar to my friend’s experience and easily relatable for a young audience. So because of this, my film takes place in the recognisable setting of teenagers in a classroom. This gave me a good base to show the detrimental impact schizophrenia can have and how alone it can make someone feel in a situation most of us take for granted.