In 2020 Mental Ideas co-produced a feature-length film, Transference: A Bipolar Love Story with filmmaker and ambassador Raffaello Degruttola and Contro Vento Films. As well as directing, Raff stars in the film alongside Emilie Sofie Johannsesen.

Transference is a compelling bipolar love story of two immigrant nurses, one of whom has a secret that threatens to implode their passionate love affair. The film explores themes of emotional isolation, denial, cultural displacement and mental illness and features a strong female cast, including Silver Leopard award-winning Lotte Verbeek (‘Outlander’, ‘The Blacklist’), Simone Lahbib (‘Da Vinci’s Demons’, ‘Philomena’), Ania Sowinski (‘Men in Black: International’, ‘‪Eddie the Eagle‬’) and Christina Chong (‘‪Johnny English Reborn‬’, ‘Line of Duty’, ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’).

The film draws influence from Raff’s difficult relationship with his father, who struggled with bipolar disorder throughout his life. You can hear Raff talking about his relationship with his dad and how it fuelled his creative work on our Mental Ideas Podcast for RTHK here.

The film was exec produced by Bill Bossert, co-produced by Sadie Kaye, filmed by DP Simon Haynes and edited by Charlie Lort-Phillips. The film was privately screened in London and Italy in late 2019. In 2020 the film reached the competition stage of the New York Socially Relevant Film Festival (SRFF). Transference was placed runner up in the Narrative Feature category and received a Special Jury Mention from the judges.

The film was also selected for the 2020 Buenos Aires International Film Festival, Lulea Film Festival, The Hague Global Film Festival, European Cinema Festival, Stockholm City Film Festival, Amsterdam World Cinema Festival and Arizona International Film Festival in the Dramatic Feature category. The film won Best Drama at the 2020 International Anatolia Film Festival and the 2021 RAGFF Venezia Film Festival. It also won the Zoroaster Award.

In Nov 2020 the film was released by 1091 Pictures. In May 2021 it was posted on 1091’s YouTube channel, where it went viral. It has now been viewed over 29 million times.