Filmmaker, Darnell Lamont Walker, Releases "Outside The House" Documentary about Black Mental Health

NEW YORK - Jan. 7, 2017 - PRLog -- Award winning writer and filmmaker, Darnell Lamont Walker, approaches Mental Illness and Blackness with caution and with art. His film, Outside the House, is a documentary featuring several African Americans sharing their stories of mental health, mental illness, and healing.

Released January 4 through Evolutionary Press Film, the documentary has already received an overwhelming number of responses from viewers who said they felt alone in their suffering, but thanks to the film, they know they aren't.

Depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, molestation, the church, and many other taboo subjects are brought up and tackled in this work. "We are all in here," Darnell Lamont Walker says. "All of us."

About the film, Darnell Lamont Walker has this to say:

Outside the House, simply stated, is my attempt to burn down the house where our secrets are kept.

A Black man once told me mental illness doesn't exist in Black folks. Using that moment as a learning and teaching opportunity, I asked him to explain his thoughts to me, then to the family of my Black friends who've killed themselves, to my best friend who's battling depression and anxiety that once stayed with her for four months, then to the members of his family living in a closet because living their truths out loud is too painful around this non-believer.

The work on Outside the House began. How do I tell stories that need to be told, I asked myself. I gathered the people with a facebook status: Black Folks who have sought mental health assistance, why did you do it?

The people began responding and my Facebook wall turned into a therapy session. This was where I needed to begin. I contacted friends, family, friends of family, and random doctors and counselors around the US and traveled to where they were. I needed their stories. I needed them to rip off the door of that house outside of which their mothers told them to never share their issues. I needed their stories to help others do the same.

This film is not about statistics, or science, or theories, or practices. It's a mental health documentary about mental health and sharing our stories so others will understand they are not alone. It's about what's happened to us, what will happen to our children, and breaking cycles that are killing us in dark places.

Walk intends to spread the message via film festivals, screenings, showcases, and appearances while continuing to advocate for mental wellness.

To view the film and obtain more information, visit: http://outsidethehousedoc.com.