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Background: Recent interdisciplinary research highlights the role of artistic practices in healthcare as complementary approaches for emotional well-being. Photography and cinema create reflective spaces encouraging attention, emotional awareness, and personal expression. Mindful Photography & Cinema, developed in Bucharest, Romania, emerged within the author’s doctoral research on Mindful Cinema, exploring how guided engagement with visual arts may reduce stress and support emotional regulation.

Objectives: This exploratory study examined the impact of mindful engagement with photography and film on patients’ perceived stress and well-being.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients (aged 35–84; M = 58.43) from the Internal Medicine Department of Prof. Dr. Angelescu Hospital participated in guided activities, including photography workshops, film screenings, and discussions. Participants practiced mindful observation, reflected on emotional responses, and created photographs with brief present-moment reflections. Stress and well-being were self-reported before and after sessions using visual analogue scales. Pre/post differences were analyzed with the Wilcoxon test due to small sample size and non-normal distribution.

Results: The intervention significantly reduced stress (Z = –4.208, p < 0.001) and increased well-being (Z = –3.812, p < 0.001). Participants reported greater attentiveness, emotional reflection, and a sense of shared experience. Selected photographs were exhibited at Medfest Egypt and in Bucharest.

Conclusion: Mindful visual arts provide effective tools for emotional support and exemplify arts-medicine collaboration. Within the author’s doctoral research, these 2024 findings advance Mindful Cinema as a practice integrating creation, perception, and emotional awareness, and the methodology has since been applied by the author with neurodivergent and pediatric oncology patients.