What's Going On?

Five films exploring the experiences of psychosis.

Produced by Artangel, and entitled The Directors, these films are a collaboration between artist Marcus Coates and five individuals with lived experiences of psychosis. Positioned behind the camera, each of them directs Coates in a filmed restaging of particular episodes from their lives.

The films and associated background materials are available to stream for free via this website, as an educational resource to be used in multiple institutional contexts where people with psychosis might experience stigma.

Upcoming Exhibitions and Events

18 - 19 September 2026

Affective Encounters: Making Space for Disturbance

University of Cambridge

This two day symposium explores reflections and responses to the experience of what’s loosely termed here ‘psychological disturbance’; and also seeks to start conversations between people who work with such disturbance either professionally or personally (or both). The Directors: Marcus will be screened and accompanied by a discussion between Marcus Coates and Marcus Gordon.

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“What could be devastating is transformed through a process of radical empathy into a demonstration of the power of art to support a more compassionate and sensitive understanding of the world.”

Clare Cumberlidge, audience member

“These films were all a powerful reminder of the intensity of the experiences that we describe as psychosis. I had not realised even though I’ve been a psychiatrist for 45 years, how immersive the experiences were.”

Femi Oyebode, Honorary Professor of Psychiatry, the University of Birmingham

“The Directors is a significant corrective to the long silencing of the voices of those who live with psychosis. As well as showing the experiences as they are for the people who know them from the inside, these wise, engaging and profoundly moving films are also extraordinary testaments of recovery.”

Professor Charles Fernyhough, Department of Psychology, Durham University

"The care and kindness with which you handled these break-aways from what we can call reality was inspiring for the audience, and I hope the experts too... Your film went a long way to bringing me closer to understanding what my brother might have been feeling in his darkest moments."

Mez Kerr Jones, audience member