Announcing the Winner of the Financial Times and Pulitzer Center Global Health Film Grant

The Pulitzer Center and One World Media are pleased to announce the winner of the Global Health Film Grant in collaboration with the Financial Times. Following a worldwide open call, we have selected a grantee from amongst nearly 200 applications.

Monica Jha, an award-winning independent journalist and filmmaker based in India, will receive Pulitzer Center funding and editorial support through the One World Media Fellowship to tell a story about how communities are working to bridge the gap between science and spirituality to reshape how mental illnesses are understood and treated in India. 

Across the country, religious beliefs and practices continue to lead to the mistreatment of people with mental illnesses. At some shrines they are chained, harmed and some have even died after being labeled possessed or spiritually weak. A homegrown movement is challenging these practices by making psychiatric care more accessible. It trains priests to act as mental health support workers rather than excluding them. It exposes fraudulent healers and files complaints against abusive shrines. It also builds community capacity by training citizens in psychiatric and clinical social work.

Jha says, “I want to bring audiences into a world that is rarely seen: where spiritual belief, medical innovation, and community action intersect to reshape mental healthcare. By closely following the people driving this change — priests, doctors, activists, and patients — I hope this film challenges stigma and expands our understanding of what compassionate, accessible care can look like.”

“As foreign aid is cut, in the wake of global pandemics and as the role of science and experts is disputed this is a particularly crucial time to spotlight global health. This project seeks to reveal new ways that traditional cultures and faith are intersecting with the latest science and shaping mental health treatment, stories direct from the communities most impacted. The last collaboration resulted in a film that has won awards and been screened around the world. No pressure but we are equally excited about this one!”
— Juliet Riddell, Head of New Formats, Financial Times

"We were incredibly impressed by the quality and range of applications this year. In the end, Monica's reporting and visual storytelling abilities stood out, along with her plan to document how communities in India are organizing to overcome stigma and provide effective mental health care. Monica hopes that her project will resonate beyond India, given that lack of access to mental health care is a global problem."
— Susan Ferriss, Global Health Editor, Pulitzer Center 

Jha's investigative work has appeared in Rest of World, Daily Beast, Coda Story, South China Morning Post, Scroll, The Wire, and received awards from Stop Slavery Media, the Fetisov Journalism, and the SEJ Investigative Reporting and One World Media.

Mental health challenges across India and the Global South are intensified by stigma, religious beliefs, limited resources, and severe shortages of trained professionals. Through this grant, we are proud to partner with two leading media organizations to invest in a storyteller committed to shedding light on this issue.

You can find more info about the Global Health Film Grant here.

The Pulitzer Center's support for this reporting was made possible in part through the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and the Gates Foundation.