Oconee County filmmaker releases short film dealing with mental health. Here's how to watch

Pamela Perrine has been making short films since she moved to Watkinsville about six years ago, and now her latest effort is available for public viewing on YouTube.

“The Journeyman,” which Perrine directed and wrote, was previously screened at four film festivals.

One of the reasons she wants the short film available now is because May is national Mental Health Awareness Month.

The film “deals with childhood trauma and not being believed, which is one of the problems in mental health — how patients are not believed and how they are misdiagnosed,” she said.

“The Journeyman” stars Jay Mohr, who has been an actor since 1992 and had roles in movies such as “Jerry Maguire” and the television series “The Cleaning Lady.”

“I knew Jay Mohr and I wanted to utilize his amazing acting skills,” Perrine said.

The 11½-minute film was reviewed in Indie Shorts Magazine:

“Pamela Perrine’s The Journeyman is a layered social drama that brings forward the discussions on mental health, societal rehabilitation and childhood traumas in a tight, dual narrative. But, if you thought the film can be compartmentalized into one of the numerous stories dealing with mental health, you couldn’t be more wrong. At the heart of it, The Journeyman is about love, compassion and perhaps even a silent message sent out to all those whose voices are never heard,” the reviewer said.

“All of my films are usually about moral dilemmas and family drama. I incorporated mental health into this one because I feel like that it is important — because it’s so overlooked,” Perrine said.

The film premiered in Hollywood at the Chinese Film Festival, then was accepted into the Chelsea Film Festival in New York, the Vail Film Festival in Colorado and the Portland Film Festival, the latter which screens films from around the world.

Also available on YouTube is a short film that Perrine shot in Watkinsville in 2018 called “Angels in Rocket Field.” Many of the scenes were filmed on the actual Rocket Field in downtown.

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Perrine, originally from the Macon area, began an acting career in 1991 and lived in California and New York before her move to Watkinsville. She plans to direct a full-length feature film.

Another short film she directed and had an acting role was released in 2020.

“Lunch Hour with the President,” she said, is her favorite short film. It was accepted into an Academy Award-qualifying film festival and was well received.

“It’s really powerful,” she said.

“In the end it alludes to Abraham Zapruder, who filmed the JFK assassination,” the director said.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Watkinsville filmmaker releases her film 'The Journeyman' on YouTube