GENRE: Short films
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
Featuring artists: Cai Bell-Jerome, Noor Gatih, Gulzar, Mio Muyoboke, Katrina Rodriguez, Kurtis Watson, Sydney Waters

For the eighth consecutive year, If You Ask Me (IYAM) has supported emerging filmmakers with lived mental health and/or addiction experiences to create new short films. This year’s program features shorts by filmmakers from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These new films were developed from July – September 2024 under the guidance of Robin Riad, along with IYAM alumnus Esteban Powell serving as mentor. Equipment rentals and facilities were generously provided by our community sponsor and partner, LIFT. 

GENRE: Documentary + Fiction (shorts)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON

Join us for a program of short films from recent editions of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF). Stick around afterward for discussions with staff from the festival who will talk about the films and share how the SMHAF is organized.  This year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival takes place across Scotland from 10 – 27 October 2024, exploring the theme of ‘In/Visible’. You can learn more at www.mhfestival.com.

GENRE: Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Homelessness, Addiction, Graffiti, Punk

Hanna Finn’s talent and charisma were undeniable from an early age. By the time she reached preschool, her creativity and sharp sense of humour were on full display. Now a young adult known as Psykos, she exists on the fringes, describing her life as one in a “parallel society.”  Ribe’s documentary Ink, Blood and Socks chronicles Psykos’ struggles with addiction and her journey toward recovery. Keywords:  Homelessness, Addiction, Graffiti, Punk

WITH SHORT FILM ——— Off Suit —— Lou Estores & Brian Demoskoff | 2018 | Canada | Documentary | 3 minutes | English | Directors in attendance

GENRE: Fiction (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Poverty, Housing, Intergenerational Trauma, Family, Fiction

Writer-director Pedro Freire’s feature debut Malu offers a raw and emotional exploration of motherhood and the circumstances perpetuating transgenerational trauma. Amid the many sequences of emotional chaos, Malu emerges as a touching story about healing, forgiveness, and learning to see the people we love for who they truly are rather than who we expect them to be.

WITH SHORT FILM ——— Mechanism ——  Eva Grant | Canada | Experimental | 2023 | 5 minutes | English

GENRE: Experimental Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Schizophrenia, Housing, Experimental Documentary

Pushing at the limits of non-fiction cinema, A Man Imagined is a bracingly intimate and hallucinatory portrait of a man with schizophrenia surviving amidst urban detritus and decay. Made in close collaboration with 67-year-old Lloyd, this immersive documentary fable follows the jagged path of a decades-long street survivor, across harsh winters and blistering summers, as he sells discarded items to motorists, sleeps in junkyards and lapses into near-psychedelic reveries.

When Lloyd reveals a startling detail from his past, the filmmakers try to help him piece together a story that spills out in fragments—a jigsaw puzzle of painful childhood abstraction that seems to hold an unspeakable mystery at its core.

With its subjective, lyrical camerawork and expressionistic sound design, the latest feature from directors Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky finds poetic power and transcendence in the harrowed mind of its protagonist, delivering a poignant meditation on life at the margins.

WITH SHORT FILM ——-Uncle Bardo —— Luke Mistrucci | 2024 | Canada | Documentary | 14 minutes | English

GENRE: Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Postpartum depression, Women’s issues, Stress, Family

Unemployment, poverty, disease and domestic violence are commonplace in the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg. For young mothers, who often have to raise their children alone, they barely have time for themselves and their babies. A group of women from the Ububele Home Visiting program are working to transform the neighborhood by improving the mental well-being of mothers and their babies.

WITH SHORT FILM ——— Beyond Recall —— Ajay Kumar | 2024 | Canada | Fiction | 11 minutes | English | Director in attendance

GENRE: Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Indigenous documentary, Family, Trauma, Addiction

A National Film Board of Canada Production

Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) asks the difficult question: “Who are we without our pain?”

For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. Children, parents and grandparents have contended with the unspoken trauma, manifested in the lingering effects of colonialism: addiction, emotional abuse and broken relationships.

In her efforts to help the children of Survivors, including herself and her family, Koostachin makes the difficult decision to step in front of the camera and participate in the circle of truth. She is joined in this courageous act of solidarity by members of her immediate family, as well as an array of voices from Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. Moving beyond burying intergenerational trauma, WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) is an invitation to unravel the tangled threads of silence and unite in collective freedom and power.

Film still from 3 Seconds In 6 Seconds Out by Christopher Beaulieu.

The short film program ‘I don’t need to ask you to love me because I love myself’’ explores many different modes of filmmaking as a means to express emotions related to how we not only exist but thrive in a world filled with challenges, contradictions and conundrums. Featuring artists: Jamila Balde, Christopher Beaulieu, Jeyolyn Christie, Jet Coughlan, Brian Demoskoff, Gabe Gonçalves, Helen Posno, Zan Redcrow, Emily Schooley, Ardene Shapiro, Andrea Thompson and TK Workman.

Followed by Spoken Word & Open Mic | 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

FEATURED FILMS

Join us Halloween Night and witness 8 weeks of hard work and dedication boiled down to one amazing comedy night! These students will speak from the heart and (hope to) make you laugh till you drop!

Pepe Quiroga, originally from Bolivia, and Felipe Esmeral, hailing from Colombia, are both bilingual stand-up comics and public speaking trainers. Pepe has performed at over 300 shows across Canada, Bolivia, Mexico and Spain, including the Latin Comedy Fest. Felipe debuted at Vancouver’s Festival del Sol and has performed extensively across Ontario, appearing at venues like Backroom Comedy Club and Comedy Bar.

They are part of MalPensando, a comedy school founded in 2014 in Toronto. MalPensando, led by international award-winning comedians, aims to empower individuals from all backgrounds through comedy.

Join us for an extraordinary evening where live music meets the excitement of a small night market. With Music curated by the local music showcase & promotion group Smoking Room Only and a diverse Night Market featuring Workman Arts members, this unique event brings together the best of both worlds—a dynamic lineup of live music performances alongside an intimate market of handmade goods all in the support of artists living with Mental Illness and Addictions. All tied together by our Host, Toronto’s Good Vibe Guru Branko.

Whether you’re here for the music or for the shopping, there’s something for everyone. The Night Market offers a diverse selection of local artisans selling one-of-a-kind products, from handcrafted jewelry to unique home décor and accessories. the Live Music stage will feature a stellar lineup of artists all from the heart of the GTA.

Our mini night market features handmade goods by Workman Arts artists, including:

The Gloomy Angel Shop (Alsa St Rose)
Merle Harley
V Vallières
Good Looks Artistry (Priscilla Williams)
Hana & Hala (Fathima Safna Mohamed Sahileen)
Catnip Bloom (Susana Meza)
Concrete Atelier (Joyce Silva Desmond)