Medical Humanities Podcast

The Immigrants’ Case of Shakespeare: a discussion about borders and health effects of separation

The 400-year-old Shakespearean speech is the start of a conversation about the immigrants' situation in the US and the UK today, as well as the health effects on children suffering separation from parents and other traumas relating to a refugee situation.
Kathleen Bachynski and Brit Trogen, both from the New York University Langone, discuss 'The Immigrants' Case', a speech attributed to William Shakespeare, in order to reflect on its relevance to current debates and particularly on the role of healthcare.
Join the conversation at MH, by visiting the blog blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/ and journal site, mh.bmj.com/pages/, or by following us on Twitter (@MedHums_BMJ) and Facebook (@Medical.Humanities).

Medicine meets cinema: Dr Omneya Okasha’s journey from dentistry to film making

Dr Omneya Okasha is a dentist who had a passion for film since early childhood. Bonding with characters on screen took her on a journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and wonder. After a career in Dentistry, she is now a full-time film maker. In this conversation with Medical Humanities film correspondent, Khalid Ali, she comments on 'story-telling, attention to detail, collaboration and empathy' as key elements in making a good doctor and artist. In her films, she challenges society attitudes towards gender discrimination and physical disfigurement.

ICE Immigration and Health: Eugene Gu on the medical consequence of politics

Medical Humanities editor-in-chief Brandy Schillace interviews Dr Eugene Gu about the responsibilities of medical practitioners in light of ICE and the immigration crisis in the US.
Stay in touch with the Medical Humanities journal through the website (https://mh.bmj.com), the blog (https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities), Twitter (@MedHums_BMJ) and Facebook.
This interview was recorded on the 7th June 2018.

The shape of Medical Humanities in South Africa

What kinds of projects in medical humanities are happening in the Global South? Today we speak to two of the guest editors for a South African Special Issue (Carla Tsampiras and Nolwazi Mkhwanazi), publishing in December 2018, on the cultural context and issues of MH and social justice.

Let’s talk sex, medicine and film. Reporting from Egypt Medfest 2018

Mina Elnaggar, an Egyptian doctor and film-maker, outlines the first Arab forum for medicine in film, Egypt Medfest, in conversation with Medical Humanities Film Correspondent Khalid Ali.
Read the Medical Humanities' blog for more on film and media in medicine: https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/.

One Year Anniversary, MH editor

In this podcast, Associate Editor Angela Woods interviews Brandy Schillace, Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Humanities journal, at the one-year anniversary of her editorship. Brandy talks about the changes in the journal and what we can expect in the next year; she also takes a moment to celebrate the current and upcoming issues, authors, and contributors. We hope you will join the conversation at MH, by visiting the blog https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/ and journal site, https://mh.bmj.com/pages/, or by following us on Twitter (@MedHums_BMJ) and Facebook (@Medical.Humanities).

Talk to her: Arab women unveil taboos

Three film industry women talk mental health and violence.
‘Mamsous- Deranged’ is a short film about mental health and well-being through the story of three people, who share their experiences with clinical depression and panic attacks. It was directed by Shatha Masoud, an Emarati filmmaker who started her own advertising and video production business. Mamsous won the best ‘Muhr Emarati short film award’ in Dubai International Film Festival in 2016.
Amal Alharbi who features in 'Mamsous' is a Saudi author whose first book about mental health based on her own experience will be released in 2018.
‘Animal- Haywan’ is a short Emarati film about a seven-year-old child who grows up in a home of contradictions – a father, who is a “sociopath and narcissist”, a weak, but ambitious mother and a flamboyant cook? It was directed by Nayla Al Khaja, the CEO of Nayla Al Khaja Films and the founder of The Scene Club, Dubai’s first licensed film club. ANIMAL won Best Short Fiction (Italian Movie Award 2017). She won the Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 at the Gulf Business Awards.
More information on The Medical HUmanities blog: http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2017/01/02/film-review-dubai-international-film-festival/.
http://mh.bmj.com/

How do we find meaning when we are going to die?

Dr Khalid Ali, Medical Humanities film and media correspondent, interviews Dr Amy Hardie at the Sudan Independent Film Festival where she held a training workshop for film students.
Dr Amy Hardie is a documentary film-maker with several international awards. Her documentary feature The Edge of Dreaming, was the first Scottish feature documentary to be selected for competition at IDFA in 2009 and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize, Kiev International Film Festival. She graduated from the National Film and Television School in 1990 with the BP Expo prize for best student documentary (Kafi’s Story). Her latest film 'Seven songs for a long life' explores music and creativity in a hospice setting.
Amy and Khalid reflect on storytelling, and film as therapy.
Please visit the Medical Humanities website (mh.bmj.com/) and blog (blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/).

Psychiatry, old age and relationships in Professor Robert Abrams’ words

Family relationships, traumas from childhood echo in love life, dementia and geriatrics. In this broad interview, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry, Robert Abrams (Weill Cornell University, New York, USA) tells the Screening Room editor of Medical Humanities Khalid Ali about his contributions to the journal.
Robert Abrams was interviewed at the Cairo Medfest, the First Arab Forum for Medicine in Film, in January 2017.
Please visit the Medical Humanities website (http://mh.bmj.com/) and blog (http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/).
More information on the books and films mentioned in this interview below:
The violet hour - book review: http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/06/10/the-reading-room-the-violet-hour-great-writers-at-the-end/;
Never let me go - essay: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26578716;
Manequin - film review: http://dev.blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/12/07/film-review-mannequin/;
Crying with laughter - film review: http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/08/11/film-review-crying-with-laughter/;
Studio - film review: http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/05/31/the-screening-room-old-age-loneliness-and-cinema/?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Medical_Humanities__TrendMD-0;
Dry, hot summer - film review: http://blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities/2016/01/04/khalid-ali-taxi-ride-to-eternity-review-of-dry-hot-summers/?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Medical_Humanities__TrendMD-0.

Auditory hallucinations, agoraphobia and extremism as portrayed by actor Ahemed Magdy

In this podcast, the Screening Room editor of Medical Humanities Khalid Ali explores the role of film in shining a light on mental illlness, dysfnctional families and the rise of religious fanaticism with Egyptian director Ahmed Magdy.
Recently introduced to acting, Ahmed talks about his portrayal of three challenging characters: a young man imprisoned in his mother's house in 'Gate of Departure, Kareem Hanafi, 2015', an extremist who converts from Islam to Christianity in 'The preacher, Magdy Ahmed Ali, 2016', and a man troubled with persistent auditory hallucinations and a legacy of inherited mental illness in 'Ali, the goat and Ibrahim, Sherif Elbendary, 2016'.
Ahmed Magdy studied Law in Ain Shams University, but pursued his passion for film by taking part in the Independent cinema scene in Egypt since 2008. Ahmed produced and directed a couple of independent films, and directed his own short "A cake filled with cream".
To read more about Medical Humanities, please visit the journal's website (http://mh.bmj.com/) and blog (blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities).
More details on the films mentioned in this podcast:
• Gate of departure
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt4796556/
• The preacher
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/preacher-955026
• Ali, the goat and Ibrahim
http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/ali-the-goat-and-ibrahim-review-1201948436/.