Posted May 16th 2014
Last Chance Saloon is a collaboration between filmmaker Barry Gibb, NCMH and musician and photographer Neil “Twink” Tinning for the Wellcome Trust’s Mosaic website, which is dedicated to explaining and exploring the science of life.
The feature length documentary follows Twink on a year-long journey to understand mental illness while recording an album and performing live for the first time at Cardiff University with his own band, The Tinstones.
Along the way, Twink talks with leading authorities in neuroscience and mental health research, including NCMH director Professor Ian Jones, and former director Professor Nick Craddock. Twink discusses his own battle with bipolar disorder, and learns more about a range of conditions such as schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease.
The screening was followed by a discussion hosted by Professor Jones where Barry, Twink and Professor Craddock took questions from the audience.
After the event Twink and his Tinstones bandmate Brian Girdlestone performed a surprise acoustic session at local music venue Porters.
“It was fantastic to see such a strong positive reaction to the film, and it was obvious from the discussion afterwards that Twink’s story really connected with the audience” said Professor Jones. “Twink is a remarkable man and Barry is an exceptionally talented filmmaker. We’re privileged to have been a part of this project with them.”
Last Chance Saloon was originally released in weekly instalments as an 11 part series on the Mosaic website. All 11 parts, including extra footage not included in the feature length version, are currently available to view on the NCMH website.
The documentary has been entered into a number of film festivals including the Imagine Science Film Festival, Toronto Independent Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival. It will also air on the Community Channel later this summer.
You can view a gallery of images from the screening event on the NCMH Facebook page, or download a copy of The Tinstones album Last Chance Saloon on iTunes.
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