Play Mental: Real Men Don't Cry

On 10 October, International Day of Mental Health, Melkweg and Play Mental present a film screening and interactive workshop.

The afternoon begins with the documentary "Real Men Don't Cry", featuring current and former professional footballers Gianni Zuiverloon, Edson Braafheid, Ron Vlaar, Calvin Jong A Pin, Thomas Marijnissen, Ryan Donk and Mark Diemers spending several days at the KNVB training complex in Zeist. Without phones or public presence, they face physical and mental challenges. Open conversations address grief, divorce, loneliness, performance pressure, panic attacks and the fear of showing emotions. Admission to the film screening is free.

Following the screening, Play Mental leads an interactive workshop with practical tools to make conversations about feelings easier and mental health more discussable. The workshop is open to everyone interested in the topic. Participation is also free.

After the programme, the group exhibition "No Need To Pretend" opens at Melkweg Expo, featuring work by recently graduated artists from Dutch art academies. This programme is part of the supporting events around the exhibition and is made possible in part by Fonds 21.