On the afternoon of 12 April, the Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival and 新加坡眼 Singapore Eye jointly presented a Youth Mental Health Micro Film Screening & Sharing Session at The Foundry.
Centred on youth mental health, the event featured seven award-winning and outstanding finalist films from the 2025 Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival. Together, the films explored emotional struggle, family relationships, identity, isolation and healing, offering nuanced perspectives on the mental health challenges faced by young people across Asia.
The session brought together two judges from the 2025 Festival: Dr. Koh Chin Yee, Chairman of Singapore Eye, and Joshua Yang, an established media professional. They were joined by Charon Chong, director of Golden Child, one of the Festival’s finalist films.
Moderated by Dr. Ada Zhang, Executive Producer of the Festival, the discussion examined both the creative process behind the films and the wider realities of growing up with emotional pressure, vulnerability and mental health challenges.
The venue itself gave the event added significance. Formerly home to Singapore’s Elections Department, The Foundry has since been reimagined for a new social purpose. Led by The Majurity Trust in collaboration with government partners, it now serves as a platform for connecting resources, fostering collaboration and advancing social impact.
The Majurity Trust is also a partner of Inspiring Asia’s Singapore edition this year, making The Foundry a particularly fitting setting for the screening and dialogue.
Throughout the session, speakers and audience members shared deeply personal experiences, including their own struggles and those of people close to them who had faced mental health challenges. Many of these experiences are rarely spoken about openly, either because they are difficult to articulate or because the right space for such conversations is often absent.
Through the emotional power of the films and the openness of the discussion, the audience gradually moved beyond observation and into genuine exchange. The session became a space for listening, reflection and connection, where private experiences could be acknowledged without judgement.
Film can create empathy with an immediacy that few other forms can achieve. By allowing audiences to encounter another person’s inner world, it can open conversations that might otherwise remain unspoken and give long-silenced experiences the possibility of being seen and heard.
This is the role Inspiring Asia seeks to continue playing: using film not only to tell meaningful stories, but also to deepen understanding, encourage dialogue and create spaces where people feel less alone.
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