Workman Arts will be presenting and producing the 19th annual Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival (RWMFF) November 4th – 12th. The 9-day festival will showcase over 20 programs of feature and short films, as well as multi-media installations, live performances, and visual arts exhibitions. Each program includes a thematic, moderated post-screening panel discussion with filmmakers, people living with the experience of the issue explored, a health care professional and a special interest person.
“In addition to screening films, we are showcasing a wide range of artistic expressions – from comedy and magic performances to visual arts making this a multi-disciplinary festival. We are laying the groundwork for the future, by expanding film to display other artistic disciplines in the exploration of madness,” says Lisa Brown, Rendezvous with Madness Founder and Executive Artistic Director.
The festival line up reflects the evolving place of mental illness and addiction within popular culture and mainstream awareness. “We’re excited this year to showcase so many explorations of mental health and addiction issues,” says Matthew Hogue, programming manager of RWMFF.
The Festival will include the following and many more…
Monday, November 7th at 7:00 p.m. – Workman Hall
People in White (Netherlands 2011, 64 minutes)
Directors: Oliver Kochta, Kalleinen and Tellervo Kalleine
Producer: Kim Knoppers
In this performative doc, directors Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen and Tellervo Kalleine manage to subtly undermine the power imbalances inherent in psychiatric treatment by capturing the poignancy and haunting reflections of people who’ve been through it. It’s easy for a film like People in White to get it wrong and come across as didactic and even ham fisted, but to their credit the husband and wife team not only strike an understated tone, but their original approach to the subject matter makes for a refreshing change from the usual “system done me wrong story”.
The stories here are shocking. As the ten subjects share and re-enact their experiences their honesty and intimacy draw you into their world, their memories and it’s hard to come away untouched. The filmmakers allow each storyteller the opportunity to fully express their experience, and as the stories continue, good people become paramount in their recoveries. Ultimately, People in White challenges our perceptions of not only traditional mental health practices, but also our perceptions of what it is to be ill.
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| Comic Big Daddy Tazz |
Wednesday, November 9th at 8:00 p.m. – Workman Hall
Big Daddy Tazz
Performance: Comedy
Acclaimed as “one of the most talented comics in the business,” Tazz brings his unique worldview of life after mental illness to Rendezvous with Madness. His years spent struggling with un-diagnosed bipolar disorder has left him determined to entertain and inspire. In his words, “it’s easier to deal with through laughter. People don’t realize they’re being educated when they laugh. I like to make them laugh until they cry and then laugh some more…it’s the bi-polar way.” Using comedy to help others comes naturally to Tazz.
The RWMFF show will be hosted by Yuk Yuk’s founder and Toronto-native Mark Breslin, followed by a conversation with Big Daddy Tazz and Dr. David Goldbloom, senior medical advisor at CAMH.
Thursday, November 10th at 6:30 p.m. – TIFF Bell Lightbox
Intervention (Canada 2011, 44 minutes)
Series Producer: Karen Wookey
Panelists: Moderator John Kastner, Karen Wookey, interventionist Andrew Galloway and Bioethicist Barbara Russell
Emmy Award winning filmmaker John Kastner moderates a post screening discussion with Intervention Canada Series Producer Karen Wookey, Interventionist Andrew Galloway, CAMH Bioethicist Barbara Russell and a subject from one of the featured episodes.
Based on A&E’s long running Emmy Award winning Intervention series, Intervention Canada profiles ‘people whose addictions have brought them to a point of crisis or estranged them from their friends and loved ones.’ A surprise intervention by the subject’s friends and family is staged at the end of each episode.
Increasingly mental health issues are finding an audience through reality television, but the debate rages around the ethics of profiling ill people and whether or not reality programs contribute to the stigma that surrounds mental illness and addiction. Documentary filmmakers have struggled with these questions for years, but the unprecedented success of reality TV has made the answers more important than ever.
Closing Night Gala Carnivale of the Mind (presented with The Lens of Illusion)
Saturday, November 12th 8 p.m. – Workman Hall
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| Dr. Bruce Ballon |
The Lens of Illusion
Performance: Illusionist Dr. Bruce Ballon
Director: Leah Cherniak
Designer: Andy Morrow
Producer: Lisa Brown
Enter the realm of magic, mentalism and mystery, which will challenge perceptions and understandings of reality. Experience mysteries that unite us all showing we are more alike than we are different – including being psychotic.
This is but a sneak-peek at what’s in store at this year’s RWMFF. For full festival information check out the festival’s website.
