*This is one of the featured films from the 2021 Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Festival.

Petrichor is a short documentary that follows Jiniya Azad, a young Muslim woman, through her struggle with mental health. Through this short, Jiniya shares with us her thoughts and feelings about the things going on in her life and her internal struggle with faith and mental health.

Mental health is such an important topic to cover in any community. I was inspired to create this specific story through my conversations with friends about mental health and additionally my own journey. I’ve seen so many people around me try to navigate how to make faith and mental health work together. I wanted to show them that there are others who can also relate.

Mental health impacts every second of our lives. Understanding yourself and your emotions is an integral part of being a more empathic person. In a fast-paced world, it’s necessary to slow down and talk about our thoughts, feelings, and sometimes it’s really important to not talk at all and instead, just listen.

When it comes to our thoughts and feelings, sometimes we feel alone. It’s up to creatives, in any capacity, to create an environment of empathy and kindness. I hope my audience takes away that they are not alone and that no matter what they’re going through, there’s someone out there who can relate. Most of all, I want them to feel comfort and safety in knowing they can get through it.