# ‘Florid’ Director Billy Lumby on Challenging ‘Misrepresentation’ of Schizophrenia on Screen and Casting Non-Actors in Feature Debut

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/florid-director-billy-lumby-on-challenging-misrepresentation-of-schizophrenia-on-screen-and-casting-non-actors-in-feature-debut/
- Published: 2026-09-25T09:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-25T09:11:25+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/global/florid-director-billy-lumby-misrepresentation-schizophrenia-1236874198/
- Topics: Art, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Film, Health, Horror, Mental Health, UK, World

## Key points

- “Florid” confronts damaging screen stereotypes about schizophrenia.
- Jamal’s voices intensify after he stops taking medication.
- Lumby used lived experience and non-actors for authenticity.

## Summary

British filmmaker Billy Lumby’s feature debut, “Florid”, challenges the frequent portrayal of schizophrenia in cinema as synonymous with violence and unpredictability. Premiering at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the film follows Jamal, a young man in supported housing who hears voices and struggles with medication, cannabis use, loneliness and worsening isolation after stopping his pills.

Jonathan Jules plays Jamal, with live voices delivered through earpieces during filming and extensively developed in post-production. The three voices represent different aspects of his experience, while Lumby’s approach was informed by the Hearing Voices Movement, NHS research and his own mental health experiences; the cast also includes NHS workers and people with lived experience of serious mental health conditions.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.