In ‘True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes,’ Matthew Law Works Toward Destigmatizing Therapy

Matthew Law’s short film “True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes” is the second in a series of five shorts that were inspired by the struggles with mental health that Law saw many of his friends going through when the pandemic broke out in 2020.

“If anybody remembers 2020, it was a tough year. I had a lot of friends calling me late at night who were on the brink, suicidal, emotionally distraught, and the morning came and I’d try to have conversations with them about them seeking help,” he tells NewFilmmakers Los Angeles in an interivew. “They didn’t want to pursue help.”

Matthew Law’s Goal for ‘True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes’

The writer-director hopes to remove some of the social stigma around going to therapy by playing a therapist on screen who helps his patients through their struggles while also dealing with his own.

He wrote the script by drawing on the real, lived experiences of different friends in his life.

“It really started, hopefully, to create a platform for fictional storytelling to tell truths, and also to destigmatize therapy,” he says.

In “True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes,” as Daniel Stone attempts to persuade his new patient to open up, he must also save his own relationship with his wife from falling apart.

Matthew Law is an award winning filmmaker, actor and activist originally from Seattle, now living between Atlanta and Los Angeles.

You can watch law’s interview with NFMLA below.

“True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes” was part of NFMLA’s March film festival celebrating up-and-coming female talent in front of and behind the camera. The program included two shorts programs, along with award-winning filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone’s debut feature.

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The day began with InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts I, a collection of films that explore motherhood, fertility, birth, and reproductive choice from a wide range of perspectives. The programming continued with the Los Angeles premiere of “Mother of Color,” the first feature from award-winning writer-director Dawn Jones Redstone. The night concluded with InFocus: Female Cinema Shorts II, an eclectic mix of short form work from emerging talent, whose stories explored body image, intimate relationships, work and its many struggles.

NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year in addition to its special InFocus programming, which celebrates diversity, inclusion, and region. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects which will be considered for all upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the InFocus programming. 

Main Image: A still from True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes courtesy of NFMLA