Ambassador Carl Bradshaw is an independent filmmaker who has been capturing topics around mental health in his films since he started his career. He is the co-director of Elementi Media alongside Ilze Millere.

Carl’s passion for films led him to pursue a career in filmmaking. After trying a few different fields, he decided he most enjoyed producing and writing. His first short was an experimental relationship drama, Promise, which he wrote and produced. The film experienced success at several international film festivals.

Inspired, he continued to work with Ilze at Elementi Media and wrote and produced Sunset – a short war drama – and produced Quadratura – an experimental short film fusing dance, poetry and acting. He is currently co-producing his first feature with Elementi Media, Limerence. All of his films to date have dealt explicitly with mental health subjects, including depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and obsessive behaviors. While it was never Carl’s intention to concentrate on mental health in his films, it happened organically due to his own experiences.

Since his early years, Carl has struggled with anxiety and depression. Growing up, he often felt disconnected from the world around him and went through some challenging times until he found a creative outlet. He started writing stories and creating characters that he could connect to and this led him to meet like-minded people in the creative industry and made him feel like he had found a place in the world. Carl utilizes his past experiences as a driving force in shaping the complex characters in his films. He hopes that by addressing mental health in the media, film audiences can find a path to feeling accepted and represented.

Like his partner, Ilze, Carl is passionate about sustainability and equal representation in the film industry. He enthusiastically supports Ilze with her sustainable filmmaking blog ZeroSet. Having studied Creative Writing and completed several short courses on filmmaking, Carl is currently studying Business Management & Marketing with a focus on film producing to help him run and develop Elementi Media.

Mental Ideas feels blessed to have both Carl and Ilze as ambassadors. We look forward to supporting their work and helping spread the film’s mental health message.

 

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