Count On Me

We are a group of filmmakers at the American Film Institute. We are in the midst of fundraising a short film, “Count on Me,” which is the inspiring and emotional tale of Sam, a young boy with OCD trying to survive in a world that looks down on him for his disability.

With this project, we aim to tell a compelling story that sheds light on the reality of neurological disorders like OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and related ailments affect more than 1 in 100 people around the world.

We are working with the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) to help raise awareness for mental illness. ADAA is an international non-profit dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety and depressive, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders through education, practice, and research. Their mission on improving the quality of life for those with these disorders resonates deeply with the vision we established for our project.

Together, we hope to change lives.

Movies that accurately represent mental illness are scarce. The media we’re accustomed to tends to depict people with mental illness as dangerous or scary. However, we seek to show mental illness in a realistic and humanizing way. As filmmakers, we aim to show psychological illness represented accurately on screen.

ADAA provides education about the disorders and helps people find treatment, resources, and support. They strive to improve patient care by promoting the implementation of evidence-based therapies and best practices across disciplines through continuing education and training and accelerating the dissemination of research into practice. ADAA supports scientific innovation and engages a diverse network of basic and clinical anxiety and depression researchers and providers encouraging the implementation of new treatments to clinicians.

The film ‘Count on Me” is based on our Director's experience with mental illness and how it affected his life and family. Movies are expensive, even short ones, and our project requires some financial support.

We've already raised some funds independently, but we still have a good ways to go. If you can donate $10, $15, $20 or more to the project, you will make this film a reality and raise awareness of mental illness. We’d love it if you could help spread the word: a simple share across social media platforms can help this film reach its funding goal.

To find out more about our project and how you can donate, please follow the link to our website: https://www.countonmethefilm.com/

Thank you for your support.

Share Your Story and Voice and Help #breakthestigma Around Mental Health

Support ADAA's Mission - Every Gift Makes an Impact