Our Turn to Talk
Teenagers are putting an end to mental health stigma. They’re telling their own, unfiltered stories in Our Turn to Talk, which is both a documentary film and a teen-hosted podcast.
Our Turn to Talk
From skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression to the impacts of racism, social media, and the pandemic, teens’ struggles and triumphs carry a powerful message: Storytelling saves lives. That is what motivated Anastasia Vlasova during her senior year of high school to start a podcast. And audiences join her on her journey to share her story and travel across the country to give other teens a chance to share theirs. Real, raw, and life-affirming, Our Turn to Talk comes at a time when it’s needed most. It has become a defining film, podcast series and impact project to normalize conversations about mental health with young people and all those who care about them. [Our Turn to Talk is a co-production of Principle Pictures and PBS-WETA’s WellBeings.]
Check out the trailer for Our Turn to Talk to see some of the young people who are speaking out about their experiences. As 18-year-old Anastasia Vlasova says, “It’s all about starting the conversation.” Our Turn to Talk can help ignite conversations in your life.
Our Turn to Talk contains mature mental health and suicide related themes and content. Viewers with personal experience with suicide or mental health experiences / challenges are advised to be sure that they have adequate self-support readily available. Viewers younger than 15 years of age may benefit from viewing with an adult present or nearby.
A Note from the Filmmakers
“We believe in storytelling as one of the most powerful ways to build empathy, inspire action, and create change. We all know about post-traumatic stress syndrome. But there’s also something called post-traumatic growth. Because the experience of trauma is something that unites us all, we want to highlight the ways young people who have dealt with adversity have been transformed by their experiences. Resilience and hope are the defining qualities of their lived experiences, and we can all learn from their wisdom. We are so grateful to the brave storytellers who shared their stories with us and to Jennifer Marshall, founder of This Is My Brave, whose work breaking down stigma through live storytelling was an inspiration for the film and podcast.”
– Beth Murphy, Patrice Howard, & Steph Khoury
Beth Murphy
Beth is mom to an incredible teen daughter and athlete who struggled with depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also the founder of Principle Pictures, a media and impact company dedicated to storytelling for social impact—through films, podcasts, news reports, and complementary impact campaigns. Her work premiers at top-tier film festivals globally and can be found across national and international media outlets, including PBS (FRONTLINE, POV, Independent Lens and NewsHour), The New York Times Op-Docs, TIME, History Channel, The Sundance Channel, Discovery Networks, Lifetime, ABC News, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, The Washington Post, PRI The World, NHK, Canal Vie, and many others. Her honors include: Emmy Award, World Press Photo Award, Overseas Press Club Award, Scripps Howard Award, National Headliner Award, Webby Award, RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award, AWRT’s Gracie Allen Award, One Shared World International Outreach Award, and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
Patrice Howard
Patrice Howard is a multimedia journalist, documentary filmmaker, and writer with a passion for sharing stories about people and issues that don’t always make headlines. She joined Principle Pictures in 2018, where she is producing character-driven documentary films and digital-first stories. She directed and produced Our Turn to Talk, a documentary film focused on teens living—and thriving—with mental illness. She is also a producer on the podcast. Patrice was previously a bureau chief and on-air correspondent for Feature Story News, covering US news for international broadcast and digital networks. She is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Communication and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she received the Video Storytelling Award.
Stephanie Khoury
Stephanie Khoury began her career as a storyteller by documenting life through her drawings and now spends her time collaging moments into films. As a documentary film editor, she’s worked on several films, long and short, that aim to inspire empathy and understanding. Her work has been published on NPR, The New York Times Op-Docs, and National Geographic, and she’s contributed to series for TIME, Vox Media, PBS and Newest Americans. In 2019, she was named a Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Mentee. Stephanie is a graduate of the Documentary Studies and Production program at Ithaca College, where she also minored in Art and Environmental Studies and was honored with the Faculty Award for Documentary Studies and Production program.
Our Turn to Talk Link & Playbook
This film contains honest conversations between young people about suicide and thoughts of self-harm. For some viewers, this may cause uncomfortable feelings at times. It is important to remember that you can pause viewing as needed to engage in self-care.