Actor Kofi Siriboe, 24, directed a short documentary, titled WTF Is Mental Health?, in hopes to kickstart a conversation surrounding the Black community and the importance of mental health.
The Queen Sugar star released the short doc to HuffPost and spoke to the news site about the film and his first attempts at jumping behind the camera into production. WTF Is Mental Health? was filmed in the Bronx and showcases seven people who discuss the stigmas and challenges they face because of their mental health journey. Siriboe credits his creation of the mini-documentary to struggles with his own mental health. There was “some type of unease, a level of unhappiness,” he felt as he began to attain success in his acting career.
“Making ‘WTF Is Mental Health?’ has been a part of a healing process for me, one I’m still exploring,” Siriboe said. “It’s the companion piece to ‘Jump,’ a short film I made after a mentor and big brother figure died by suicide, just before I got the call that I’d been cast in ‘Queen Sugar.’ I started working on this beautiful, emotional show and felt how liberating it was to channel my fears into art. As I began to mold ‘Jump,’ I realized the true conversation I was craving centered on young Black people who are figuring out this mental health thing, too.”
Watch the short doc above.
