"Filmmaking is my way of telling the world: 'I am.'" For director and screenwriter Maryse Legagneur, the camera became a way to exist again after years of struggling with anorexia. But the film world isn't perfect: she talks about the isolation and exhaustion many Black women experience in the industry, and about La maison d'Erzulie, the retreat she founded in Sutton to give these women a space to catch their breath.

The post [VIDEO] Mental Health in Focus: a conversation with Maryse Legagneur appeared first on Canada Media Fund.

A new role is emerging on film and TV sets. Psychologists and mental health professionals are joining forces with directors to handle their teams’ psychological health. The job, which can be complex, is just starting to find its place within the Canadian screen industry.

In a Montreal studio, a video crew is getting ready. Monitors are set up on a folding table and four cameras point toward the chair where a guest will soon sit. Content creator Xavier Watso enters, all smiles. “Big shoot!” he exclaims.

I explain to him why I’m here, on the set of Mental Health in Focus. While he takes part in the Canada Media Fund-produced documentary series on mental health, I’ll be observing Sophie Brive’s work. She’s a clinical psychologist who specializes in film shoots for both fiction and documentary projects.

“I don’t think I’m going to use her very much,” he says, with an apologetic smile.

He’s right. In the 15 minutes he spends sharing his experience as an Indigenous content creator, notably discussing hateful messages he’s received, he never once turns toward the psychologist. She remains in the background, concentrating, wearing a headset connected to the monitor.

Brive was hired to meet the participants in advance, and then advise the production team on how to word questions. “Instead of asking, ‘What was your most difficult moment,’ it’s ‘What were the obstacles you met along the way, related to your identity,’” she explains. “We prioritize choices, rather than demands.”

Although he didn’t consult Brive, Watso thinks having someone like her on set could be useful.

“You know, a lot of production teams don’t care about the other person at all,” he says. “They just want to get the clip, capture the emotion that’s going to sell, at the expense of the guest, while here it’s the opposite.”

Crucial work, but still not common

Few psychologists offer these services. Brive has participated in a dozen Quebec productions since 2021, including the series Les météorites, where she supported an actor playing a victim of domestic violence, which brought up the actor’s own experiences. “She needed a lot of emotional support between two scenes,” Brive remembers. “She cried, I comforted her, we breathed, we emptied everything out, and we reset. That allowed her to reshoot the scene without having to stop production.”

The goal of this work is never to hinder the project, she says. “I work with the director, and I want their film to be what they want it to be,” says Brive, who adds it’s important to create conditions where everyone can feel good.

Alice Ride, founder of Set Protect, a Canadian organization that offers support for psychological health and safety in the entertainment industry, says implementing mental health resources on film sets has been slow to gain traction.

Set Protect offers eight therapists and certified mental health counsellors, as well as 15 professionals who are on call for interventions, if necessary. But the demand could be greater. Ride points to the lack of information about available resources, and the constraints of tight budgets. She insists, however, that support can be tailored to different needs and financial situations.

Psychologists can also be called in to defuse tense situations or even resolve conflicts within production teams. A new role has emerged on set — the mental health coordinator, similar to an intimacy coordinator.

“So it could look like somebody’s on set and they’re available to talk to anyone at any time,” says Ride. “The main difference is that mental health coordinators become part of the crew, whereas a counsellor is brought in specifically for one pass, one event or one shoot day that’s traumatizing.”

Documentary and reality TV sets are better equipped

Ride says the Canadian documentary sector is more motivated to use psychological services than other parts of the industry because of the impacts its sensitive content can have on participants. She points to the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC). After publishing the DocuMentality report in 2023, about issues affecting mental health in the sector, DOC started allocating a budget for mental health care.

The demand is also strong in reality TV. “They almost all have psychologists now,” says Dania Ramirez, a clinical psychologist who specializes in supporting contestants on reality TV productions.

She’s worked on several popular French-language reality TV shows, including Occupation Double, Star Académie and L’île de l’amour (a French version of Love Island). She’s also working on a reality TV show out this fall, Complètement dans le champ, where content creators work on a farm for two weeks.

When advising on cast selections, Ramirez doesn’t look for interesting personalities. Instead, in a meeting that lasts a little under an hour, she evaluates whether the person is prepared to have a seriously stressful experience. “We identify the person’s possible fragilities, how they function, and their capacity to adapt,” she says. “It’s already happened where I’ve said, ‘This person is really too fragile.’ The production always makes the final decision, but I’ve never raised red flags that weren’t taken into consideration.”

Ramirez remains available throughout the production for telehealth sessions. For example, she may be called in to de-escalate a group conflict, as happened in 2022 for Occupation Double Martinique. She was rushed to the set when a bullying scandal rocked the production to the extent that backers pulled out and several contestants were let go.

“Ideally, if we’re supporting the participants, we shouldn’t support the production team as well, to avoid conflicts of interest. These are different roles that should be held by different psychologists,” says Ramirez.

The return to real life can also be tough for reality TV contestants, so sessions are scheduled with the psychologist. They’re brief, but the goal isn’t to resolve everything; instead Ramirez explains they’re trying to “de-dramatize things, re-contextualize what it meant to participate in the show.” If the needs are larger, the person can be referred to other resources.

Best practices for set psychologists

Everyone interviewed agrees that set psychologists’ roles and boundaries need to be clearly defined from the beginning, to respect the profession’s ethical framework.

It would be helpful to establish a specific framework for film sets within professional organizations; something Ramirez is trying to do with the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (Quebec Order of Psychologists).

Ride notes that WorkSafeBC, British Columbia’s provincial organization responsible for health and safety at work, has proposed a new rule to integrate the management of psychosocial risks for all employers in the province, including those in the film and television production sector. A public consultation is currently underway on this subject.

For the rest, Ride wants more research on the importance of psychological support in the workplace to be done in North America, to raise awareness of needs, and to then formulate policy, both in production environments and with governments.

The post Profession: set psychologist appeared first on Canada Media Fund.

“The biggest risk was ourselves, because we weren't delegating enough.” Executive producer Daniela Mujica founded Productions Ocho in June 2020, just as the industry was finally opening up to racialized voices, before that momentum faded. She opens up about the rarely discussed isolation of producers and how sharing that weight with a trusted partner made all the difference.

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"I make my own place. I'll kick the door down and walk right in." A former teacher, Xavier Watso, an Abenaki from Odanak, is a content creator, host and commentator. He talks about having to carve out his own place in Quebec's traditional media, and how he protects his mental health online: he blocks racist commenters "faster than his shadow" and has found in Indigenous TikTok a space to reconnect.

The post [VIDEO] Mental Health in Focus: a conversation with Xavier Watso appeared first on Canada Media Fund.

The mental health of producers, directors and other film industry professionals is about more than just their individual experiences. According to the Canada Media Fund's documentary series Mental Health in Focus, it’s also about workplace dynamics, organizational culture and ways of collaborating.

Taking care of one’s mental health is often thought of as an individual responsibility — learn to manage your stress, recognize signs of burnout, develop your resilience. Conversations around mental health are essential, and occupy a growing place in today’s culture, including in the film and TV industry.

In dedicating the fifth season of the Canada Media Fund-produced video series Lights, Camera, Inclusion to mental health, we interviewed nine people with various roles in the industry — production, direction, intimacy coordination, visual effects, camera operation, set design and content creation. Despite the range of roles, the same issues recurred — isolation, invisible responsibilities, work pace, balancing professional and personal lives, the weight of representing a community, and the need to create more accessible environments.

But beyond reporting observations, the conversations also suggested ways of doing things differently.

Watch the video series Mental Health in Focus

Overcoming isolation

“It’s an industry where producers are entrepreneurs as well as being the leaders of creative teams,” says Mylène Augustin, producer and co-founder of Inaru Films. “A producer has to project the image of someone who’s strong, who can take care of any situation. But there are moments when we’re at home and say, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to be able to do it.’ But that’s not something we can communicate to our teams.”

For Augustin, one strategy is to turn to other producers who face the same challenges and discuss difficult situations together, rather than managing them alone.

Daniela Mujica, a producer at Productions Ocho, chose to collaborate with producer Eric Idriss-Kanago’s production company, Yzanakio.

“I don’t think I would be where I am today if I had run my own company by myself in isolation,” says Mujica. “Our cooperation is so important and helps us break the isolation of a producer who has to make very important decisions. We often need a shoulder to lean on, too.”

Isolation is also an issue for intimacy coordinator Jen Viens. On set, Viens is often the sole person tasked with creating a safe space for actors and crew.

Viens suggests the role should be integrated into the project from the beginning, providing the time to build trust. “You’re a one-person department, and then you’re the only person on set who’s making space for everyone…. Everyone shows up with their own story and their own life, and you never know how things are going to affect people. It’s a lot to carry.”

Advocating for diverse perspectives

Philipp Wolf, a visual effects producer and advocate for including neurodivergent people in the industry, suggests work environments would benefit from including a larger diversity of perspectives.

“The difference of perspective is what makes us human. Whether you realize it or not, you’re already working with neurodivergent people. So, it’s about allowing people to do what they do best and creating an environment where everyone can participate by including a diversity of perspectives in the decision-making process.”

For Wolf, the priority is to create spaces where psychological security is guaranteed, and where workers can share their needs and express how they’re feeling without fear of reprisal.

First camera assistant Yasmine Amor, who has worked extensively with professionals of diverse abilities, agrees. “We have to think about our industry in a way that includes all these people, because they have things to contribute on creative and logistical levels…. This also offers an opportunity for us to review our ways of working, and question our work rhythms and operations, which don’t really align with a healthy work-life balance,” she says, adding such a review would be beneficial for everyone.

The weight of representing a community

For director and screenwriter Maryse Legagneur, the recent increase in opportunities for creators from historically underrepresented groups allows stories that have been missing from screens to be seen.

But this creative freedom can come with a tradeoff. “Personal stories are often going to retraumatize us, and depicting this traumatizing experience can cause suffering,” she says.

Conscious of the burnout that affects the film industry’s Afro-descendant women in particular, Legagneur wanted to contribute to their healing by creating La Maison d’Erzulie.

“I made the choice to go live out in the country, two hours from Montreal, and I created a welcoming studio there to offer a retreat. I like the word retreat. Withdrawing oneself, placing oneself in a benevolent space. And these aren’t performative retreats…. I’ve had the opportunity to host three women who have stayed here, which was very beneficial for them, and for me as well.”

According to Xavier Watso, an animator and social media content creator, the emotional toll is real. Even after telling the story of his grandmother, who survived the boarding schools, dozens of times, the emotion is still strong.

“I’ve given this speech more than 60 times,” he says. “And each time I tell her story, I cry. I can’t help myself.”

Despite the abundance of hateful comments on social media (that he’s decided to ignore), the platform has become a way for Watso to meet other Indigenous creators, share experiences, and build a large, supportive community that didn’t exist before.

Julie O’Bomsawin, a producer and founder of Kassiwi Média, is working to ensure that Indigenous stories get told. Her mission is to create an Indigenous talent pool, which requires — apart from technical skills — time, mentorship and a respectful environment.

“We have to find a way to create flexibility within projects so people are well-treated when they’re learning,” she says.

How to make workplaces healthier

The solutions proposed by the nine professionals interviewed require collaboration between producers, better planning, integrating certain support roles from a project’s start, more flexible norms, better-supported training experiences, and environments designed to welcome a broader diversity of realities.

“The hours are long. And at the same time, that’s what pays,” says Paul-François Sampson, a set technician. “So, that’s always the compromise we have to make. Do we want to make money or have a life?”

He believes other approaches are possible — better planning, increasing teams when necessary, and shortening workdays.

“I know we’re in an industry that needs to make money,” says Amor. “But is money the only way to measure return? Or is it also measured by the pool of talent we create, the social cohesion, the strength of the culture we develop, the feeling of belonging, and the ways in which young people are going to advance towards their futures? I think that’s an important form of wealth as well.”

The post How’s mental health in the film and TV industry? Professionals weigh in appeared first on Canada Media Fund.

After working as an actor, director and producer, Jen Viens is now a certified intimacy coordinator. In this interview, they discuss how this relatively new role has evolved on set, the emotional weight of the work, and why safe sets matter for the entire industry.

The post [VIDEO] Mental Health in Focus: a conversation with Jen Viens appeared first on Canada Media Fund.