Happy Activist Gabri Blankson: Exploring Teens’ Mental Health Through Film

Live Happy Now

Live Happy LLC

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Health & Fitness:mental Health

4.7 • 522 Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, meet Happy Activist Gabri Blankson, who is using film to illuminate teen mental health. Her award-winning short film MIME, created through the Black Girls Film Camp, explores the emotional impact of pandemic isolation through a fantasy lens, using mimes as metaphors for internal struggles. Drawing from personal experience and inspired by Inside Out, Gabri crafted a visually expressive story that resonates deeply with young audiences. She also developed a downloadable viewers guide to help audiences interpret emotional cues and access mental health resources — proving that storytelling can be both healing and transformative. What you'll learn: How Gabri used metaphor and fantasy to express complex emotional experiences. What led her to focus on the challenges of mental health and isolation during the pandemic. How she developed her viewers’ guide — and how it enhances emotional awareness and encourages open dialogue.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for joining us for episode 534 of Live Happy Now.
0:08.9	This week, we're talking with our youngest happy activist yet, who is changing the way teens talk about mental health.
0:15.8	I'm your host, Paula Phelps, and this week I'm sitting down with Gabri Blanxon, who at the age of just 15,
0:21.6	has created a buzz with her short film, Mime.
0:24.9	Drawing on her own experiences during the pandemic, Gabri is using film as a forum to show how
0:30.4	isolation affects teen mental health and open the dialogue on what to do about it.
0:35.4	Let's have a listen.
0:37.3	Gabri, thank you so much for being on Live Happy Now.
0:40.7	Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. You have done this incredible project. When I discovered it,
0:45.7	I discovered it online. And I really wanted to be able to get you on the show because you are what
0:50.3	we would call a happy activist. You're really doing things to make the world a better
0:54.5	place. And I guess before we really dive into all the details of it, can you start by telling us
1:01.4	what MIME is all about? Yes. So MIME is about a girl who struggles with social isolation
1:09.0	during a pandemic as she confronts her inner turmoil
1:12.9	and ultimately discovers her path towards healing.
1:17.0	And you do it very well in a remarkably short time.
1:22.0	So that's one thing that I, because it is a short film and I thought, boy, you have taken
1:26.0	on a huge subject and condensed it into a short film, and I thought, boy, you have taken on a huge subject
1:27.8	and condensed it into under 10 minutes, I believe, right?
1:32.5	Yes, it was around seven minutes, I think.
1:35.1	Yeah, yeah, I thought that was incredibly well done.
1:37.9	And I also wondered why that topic, I know on the show, we have talked so much about the
	...

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