‘Electric Feel’ Takes Fully Charged, Sci-Fi Approach To Mental Health

Upcoming sci-fi film Electric Feel is about to burst onto screens at a highly topical moment, following a decade-long push from Sydney writer-director Sean Bell. For him, it’s a personal battle nearly won, both internally and on the screen. “I wrote this really personal film about my battle with mental illness, viewed through a sci-fi lens, in 2016,” Bell said. “It’s taken nearly a decade of persistence to get it made, which I’ve done independently. Now it’s going to land at the absolute perfect time socially for this theme and story. I wanted to help reduce the stigma by presenting mental illness in a fresh new way.” Electric Feel follows Jane (played by newcomer Naomi Belet), who is addicted to a TV broadcast scientifically engineered to reduce depression and anxiety. When the broadcast suddenly goes off the air, Jane’s world unravels, forcing her to venture outside her comfort zone and into a chaotic underground rave scene that may hold the key to the mystery. Filmed around Sydney’s inner west, Bell said it was important to him to champion everything local for Electric Feel. “For my debut feature, I wanted to elevate as many things around me as I could,” he said. “I filmed locally around inner west Sydney, utilized local apartments and businesses, and even filmed at real raves. I took great care casting incredibly talented Aussie newcomers and have championed exciting Sydney indie musicians for the soundtrack.” A lifelong Sydneysider, Bell has spent 20 years honing his craft by working tirelessly in a multitude of roles across film, TV, radio and advertising - all self-taught. “My first job was at multicultural network SBS as a promo producer,” he said. “Since then, I’ve done just about every role under the sun: director, writer, producer, editor, storyboards, graphics, VFX, sound, production design, fundraising and even set building. I’ve thrown the full weight of all that experience into this production; I’ve given it my all. The result is a visual and sonic feast with a huge amount of heart.” Electric Feel is in the final stages of postproduction and will be completed in early 2026. Follow the production on Instagram at @electricfeelmovie or find it on IMDb and the web.