Negative Split is a psychological short film about the pressure young people face to constantly perform-in sports, school, and on social media. Set in the world of elite youth swimming, the film follows an 18-year-old athlete struggling with control, identity, and expectations from adults and institutions. Through immersive storytelling, the project aims to raise awareness about youth mental health, autonomy, and the hidden emotional costs of high-performance culture.
Young athletes today grow up under constant pressure to perform-tracked, coached, recorded, and judged in sports and on social media. Many teenagers struggle with identity, anxiety, and burnout as their value becomes tied to results and public perception. Stories about youth athletics rarely explore the psychological cost of this pressure. Emerging filmmakers also face major barriers to funding ambitious short films that can reach wide audiences.
This project will produce Negative Split, a psychological short film exploring the inner life of a young competitive swimmer navigating pressure, control, and identity. By placing audiences inside the athlete's sensory experience-breath, water, pulse-the film sparks conversation about mental health and autonomy in youth sports. Donations will fund production, post-production, and festival distribution, enabling the film to reach audiences and support emerging international filmmakers.
Negative Split will create a powerful artistic work that encourages discussion about performance culture, youth mental health, and self-determination. Through festival screenings and online distribution, the film aims to reach global audiences, educators, and young athletes. The project also supports early-career filmmakers and collaborators, strengthening international creative networks and demonstrating how independent storytelling can illuminate complex social pressures.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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