Workman Arts Announces: 23rd Annual Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival, November 6 - 14, 2015.
TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2015 /CNW/ - The first and largest mental health film festival in the world, Rendezvous with Madness (RWM), presented by Workman Arts (WA), returns to TIFF Bell Lightbox alongside the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and Workman Theatre from November 6 - 14 for its 23rd edition. The nine-day festival showcases 20+ programs with almost 40 feature and short films, a multi-media installation exhibition and full day symposium with a spotlight on television and addiction.
The festival kicks off at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St West on Friday, November 6, with the World Premiere of Swift Current - the electrifying saga of former hockey star Sheldon Kennedy. From hotshot young prospect to shattered alcoholic to high profile advocate for victims of sexual abuse – Kennedy's story is given potent documentary treatment by director Joshua Rofé, who creates an intensely affecting case for a culture that still has a long way to go when it comes to acknowledging both the frequency and the impact of the exploitation of the most vulnerable by those in positions of power. Special guests Rofé and Kennedy will participate in an in depth post-screening discussion. On Saturday, November 7 at the Workman Theatre, 651 Dufferin Street our annual symposium Transfixed: Addiction and TV takes place and will include three panels addressing the symbiotic relationship between digital media and addiction. Screenings continue on Sunday, November 8 with the remainder of the festival taking place at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Monday - Saturday, November 9 - 14.
Distinguished author, movie critic, broadcaster and educatorGeoff Pevere our new Program Director has chosen some outstanding films. "This year is the boldest, most eclectic and provocative programming yet, Pevere says. "RWM will venture into the new frontier of public awareness toward the mysteries of the human mind, offering audiences an opportunity to watch films inspired by recovery and engage in dialogue with filmmakers, professionals and persons with lived experience."
"This year's RWM film line-up is extremely powerful. Many of the films are unflinchingly direct and provocative. We are sharing creative and insightful reflections and authentic portrayals of individuals who live with a mental illness and/or addiction," says Rendezvous with Madness Founder and Workman Arts Executive Artistic Director Lisa Brown.
Most screenings are followed by a discussion with artists, mental health professionals and/or people with lived mental health experience. RWM presents powerful, entertaining and compelling images of mental health from around the world. These diverse viewpoints capture the global discussion surrounding mental health and encourage the breakdown of stigma across many cultures.
Tickets can be purchased by telephonebetween 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. at416-599-TIFF (8433) or toll free at 1-888-599-8433, online at rendezvouswithmadness.com, or in-person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street West, Reitman Square, Toronto between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.
- Festival Pass (tickets to all screenings only): $100
- Opening Night VIP event (Preshow Reception and Swift Current): $35
- Opening Night Screening Only (Swift Current): $15
- Symposium: Addictions and TV: $40 with lunch ($30 without)
- Regular Programs: $12 (a limited number of Pay-What-You-Can Tickets also available at the door for people on fixed incomes)
- Artist talks and Installation Exhibition: FREE
*Ticket prices vary. Please check with schedule before purchasing.
SCHEDULE
For full film descriptions please visit, http://www.rendezvouswithmadness.com/2015-film-schedule/
| FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6 |
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| 6 p.m. -7:15 p.m. @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema – OPENING NIGHT FILM |
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| Opening Night VIP Reception |
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| 7:45 p.m. @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema |
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| Opening Night Film |
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| f. Swift Current |
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| Joshua Rofé / 2015 / Canada / 74 Minutes / English / World Premiere |
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| *Director Joshua Rofé and Sheldon Kennedy in attendance. |
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 |
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| 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| TRANSFIXED: ADDICTION AND TV –symposium |
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| Panel discussions at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. |
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| Stay tuned! Information to be announced at rendezvouswithmadness.com |
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| 7 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| f. A Minor Leap Down |
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| Hamed Rajabi / 2015 / Iran/France / 88 Minutes / Farsi with English subtitles / North American Premiere |
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| *Post screening discussion in Farsi with English translation |
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| SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 |
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| 11 a.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| f. Swift Current (Opening Night Rescreening) |
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| Joshua Rofé / 2015 / Canada / 74 Minutes / English |
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| See description on Friday, November 6 |
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| *Director Joshua Rofé and Sheldon Kennedy in attendance |
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| 1:30 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| Teenland: Global Youth Shorts |
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| Featuring short films from Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium. |
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| 4 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| Madness and Motion: The Dance of Disorders (shorts) |
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| Featuring short films from Canada and Quebec. |
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| 6 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| f. Breaking the Chains |
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| Erminia Colucci / 2014 / Indonesia/UK/Australia/Italy / 63 Minutes / Bahasa Indonesia/Sudanese/English with English subtitles / North American Premiere |
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| *Screening with Heart of Dust by Louise Keay Bell. |
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| *Director Erminia Colucci joins post-film discussion via Skype |
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| 8 p.m. @ Workman Theatre |
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| f. Juanicas |
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| Karina Garcia Casanova / 2014 / Canada/Mexico / 78 Minutes / Spanish/French/English with English subtitles / Toronto Premiere |
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| Screening with Scrapbook by Toronto's Mike Hoolboom. |
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| *Directors Karina Garcia Casanova and Mike Hoolboom in attendance |
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| MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 |
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| 6 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| Workman Artists on Film |
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| *Q&A with artists follows the screening. |
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| 8 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Paul Sharits |
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| François Miron / 2015 / Canada/Quebec / 85 Minutes / English / Canadian Premiere |
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| Screening with MER DEPRÉ by Margaret Orr and ECHOES by Jaimz Asmundson |
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| *Director François Miron in attendance |
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| TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10 |
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| 6:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. An Autobiography of Michelle Maren |
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| Michel Negroponte & Michelle Maren / 2015 / USA / 79 Minutes / English / Canadian Premiere |
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| *Directors Michel Negroponte and Michelle Maren in attendance |
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| 9 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| Peter Blackburn / 2014 / Australia / 81 Minutes / English / Canadian Premiere |
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| Screening with DAYDREAMS OF WILDERNESS by Amaya Han |
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| WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 |
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| 6 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Hedi Schneider is Stuck / Hedi Schneider steckt fest |
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| Sonja Heiss / 2015 / Germany / 90 Minutes / German with English subtitles / Canadian Premiere |
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| *Director Sonja Heiss in attendance (to be confirmed) |
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| 8:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Décor |
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| Ahmad Abdalla / 2014 / Egypt / 116 Minutes / Arabic with English subtitles / Toronto Premiere |
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| THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 |
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| 6:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Daniel's World / Danieluv svet |
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| *Director Veronika Lišková joins post screening discussion via Skype, moderated by CAMH's Dr. James Cantor, a Clinical Psychologist in the Law and Mental Health Program at CAMH and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cantor leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers from CAMH and other Toronto-based hospitals studying the role of the brain in causing pedophilia. |
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| FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13 |
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| 7 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. My Skinny Sister / Min lilla syster |
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| Sanna Lenken / 2015 / Sweden / 92 Minutes / Swedish/English with English subtitles |
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| Screening with HAPPY WITH BEAR by Yianni Warnock |
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| 9:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Homesick |
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| Jakob M. Erwa / 2015 / Germany/Austria / 97 Minutes / German with English subtitles / Toronto Premiere |
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| *Director Jakob M. Erwa in attendance (to be confirmed) |
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| SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 |
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| 1 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| f. Of Men And War / Des hommes et de la guerre |
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| Laurent Bécue-Renard / 2015 / France / 141 Minutes / English / Canadian Premiere |
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| Director Laurent Bécue-Renard in attendance (to be confirmed) |
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| 4 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox |
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| Wojciech Smarzowski / 2014 / Poland / 109 Minutes / Polish/English with English subtitles / North American Premiere |
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| 8 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox Closing Night Film! |
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| *Director Valerie Weiss in attendance |
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MULTI-MEDIA INSTALLATION
we now return you to your perpetual pleasure programming
Jaene Castrillon, Claro Cosco, Joey DAMMIT! and Thea Jones
Dates
• Friday, November 6 - Sunday, December 6, Installation accessible 24/7
• Friday to Saturday, November 6 - 14, Video Component
Outdoor Opening Reception:
Workman Arts' Pop Up Gallery, 1001 Queen Street West
Saturday November 7 @ 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Venues:
- Workman Arts' Pop Up Gallery at 1001 Queen Street West and Gordon Bell Road, on the grounds of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
- Workman Arts' Window Gallery at Shoppers Drug Mart, 1033 Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue.
Returning this year, November 6 – December 6, is a multi-media and collaborative installation, which responds to the 2015 festival symposium theme of 'Transfixed: Addiction and TV'. A video/animation component will be displayed on digital screens and presented from November 6 - 14 at the opening night VIP event, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and at TIFF Bell Lightbox prior to the film screenings.
This multifaceted artistic interpretation of how our brain works, survives and suffers through addiction reframes the excess of substance abuse seen on TV. In order to portray how normalized we have become to the viral image of addiction, images of addiction from mainstream television flash on the monitors alongside an overabundance of content gathered from the internet, movies and TV's history. It creates a construct of a giant aggregate mind-presenting viewers with a snippet of the bliss and banality in the face of addiction. Furthermore, you can't stop watching!
We now return you to your perpetual pleasure programming was commissioned by Workman Arts for the Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival.
About Rendezvous With Madness (RWM)
The first festival of its kind in the world and currently the largest, Rendezvous with Madness was founded in 1993 and is produced each year by Workman Arts. RWM investigates the facts and mythologies surrounding mental illness and addiction as presented by both Canadian and international filmmakers, as well as by visual and media-based artists. The festival provides filmmakers and artists with opportunities to exhibit work that may not otherwise be seen; facilitates discussion between artists and audiences on these cinematic and media representations; and increases awareness of, and advocacy for, mental health and addiction issues among the broader public. Our 23rd Festival runs November 6-14, 2015, for more information please visit: www.rendezvouswithmadness.com
Workman Arts (WA) is the longest-running multidisciplinary arts and mental health organizations in North America. WA facilitates aspiring, emerging and established artists with mental illness and addiction issues to develop and refine their art form through its arts training programs, public performance/exhibit opportunities and partnering with other art organizations. As well, WA promotes a greater public understanding of mental illness and addiction through the creation, presentation and discussion of artistic media. Workman Arts thanks their patrons Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, C.C. and Dr. Barbara Dorian & Dr. Paul Garfinkel, and is a proud partner of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leading research centre in this field. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental illness and addiction. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. For more information, please visit www.camh.ca or follow @CAMHnews on Twitter.
We are presently confirming interviews. Thank you!
Screeners and images are available upon request.
Accreditation is now open:
http://www.rendezvouswithmadness.com/accreditation/
FOLLOW US:
https://www.facebook.com/RWMFilmFest
https://twitter.com/RWMFilmFest
www.rendezvouswithmadness.com
SOURCE Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
MEDIA CONTACT: Planet3 Communications: Joanne Smale, e: [email protected], t: 289-296-6223, m: 416-554-2637
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