A couple of weeks ago I gave workshops in making a shortfilm on a filmcamp for kids from seven to ten years old. Allthough I didn't have any experience in teaching, it went very well! Ofcourse it helped a lot that the kids were very enthusiastic about filmcamp and could hardly wait to get started. 

In a previous article, 'Cinematherapy: How does it work?', I explained what cinematherapy is and how it works. Now I'm going to tell you more about the effect of laughing and crying during a movie. The movies I discuss are 'The Blindside', 'Freedom Writers' and 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?', but I also talk a bit about one of my favorite tv shows: 'How I Met Your Mother'. 

With a big interest in both cinema and psychology I like to watch (and make) movies with a therapeutical approach or just a certain storyline or main character that can help the audience cope with their own problems. 

In this article I would like to explain how I learned about cinematherapy, what it is and how it actually works.

Mike Leigh is an English writer and director of film and theatre. He really has his own way of filmmaking, which makes his characters and story lines very recognisable and realistic. 
I really like movies about everyday characters and the little things in life that make it all so hard. The following films from Mike Leigh are fantastic and really worth seeing!