Rendezvous Spoken Word and Open Mic

Please join us at our first Rendezvous spoken word and open mic event as part of our Shine ; Together year!

We are excited to feature esteemed writers Ghadeer Elghafri and Kelly Rose Pflug-Back – see their biography and contact details below! The event will also feature open mic from Workman Arts writers each sharing 5 minutes of writing with our audience – sign up for the open mic begins at 1:30 PM and continues until the 12 slots are filled. Tickets are available at the door or in advance – pay what you can and no one turned away!

This event follows the Workman Arts short film program

Any questions please contact info@workmanarts.com.

Ghadeer Elghafri is a Palestinian-Canadian poet from Gaza, born and raised in Dubai, UAE, living in Toronto. She immigrated to Canada 10 years ago from Dubai without her family. She is a Palestinian activist, a feminist, and an advocate of women, children, human rights and social justice.

Since she was 10 years old child, she was writing poetry in her mother language Arabic. What inspired Ghadeer to write is nature, her father, love, longing, nostalgia, diaspora, her homeland Palestine, difficult emotions, hard feelings, trauma, feminism, freedom, liberation, human rights and justice.

Ghadeer is the founder of Toronto Poetry Club. She has organized inclusive and diverse multicultural multilingual open mic poetry nights in Toronto for 8 years. She has published her Arabic and English poetry in newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, including the anthology “Poetry ReRooted: Decolonizing Our Tongues” and in the anthology “To Hear The Birds” 

Ghadeer’s poem “Alhuwiyya (The Identity)” had been published in English in an anthology of “Muslim American Writers at Home” in San Francisco by Freedom Voices Publisher. It was about her 3 different identities contained within her while being in diaspora, relocating in different countries and her nostalgia to her homeland Palestine. She received a grant from The Toronto Arts Council to start a Multilingual Poetry Collective. 

Ghadeer is an Ontario Ambassador, Outreach to Arab speaking community of National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (NAASCA). She completed her BSc. in Computer Science and MBA at the American University of Sharjah in UAE. Her dream is to have her own house and host her poetry nights, under the name Qahwa Art Café, in its back or front yard in the Summer and in the basement in the Winter. “Qahwa” means coffee in Arabic.

Instagram: gghafri

Kelly Rose Pflug-Back is a writer and creative writing workshop facilitator. Her fiction, poetry, and journalism has appeared recently in publications like The Briarpatch, The Deadlands, and This Magazine, as well as anthologies such as Queer Little Nightmares (Arsenal Pulp, 2022) and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (ChiZine, 2012) . Their debut collection of poems, The Hammer of Witches (Caitlin Press/Dagger Editions, 2020), recently placed as a finalist in the upcoming Bisexual Book Awards.

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Tranzac Club | 292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto
Box office: 1 PM | Open Mic signup opens at 1:30 PM
Spoken Word event starts at 4 PM sharp and runs until 5:30

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Aziz

Majid Tavakoli | 2023 | Iran | Fiction | 90 minutes | Farsi with English subtitles

GENRE: Fiction (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Alzheimer’s, Aging, Caregiving, Family

Aziz, an 80-year-old matriarch lives with progressive dementia and requires constant caregiving by her children. Anoush, her youngest son, who is about to get married, loves and takes care of his mother more than his siblings. Aziz lost her husband years ago and is suddenly professing her love to someone while her family engages in a search for this mysterious man. They eventually discover Aziz is in love with her younger son.

مجید توکلی | 2023 | ایران | داستان | 90 دقیقه | فارسی با زیرنویس انگلیسی
ژانرا: داستان بلند
نوع برنامه: اکران حضوری
کلمات کلیدی: الزایمر ، کهولت ، مراقبت ، خانواده
عزیز، زنی هشتاد ساله و با سمت بزرگ خانواده دچار بیماری رو به پیشرفت فراموشی شده است و نیاز به مراقبت دائمی فرزندانش دارد.
انوش، جوان‌ترین پسرش که در آستانه ازدواج می‌باشد، بیش از سایر خواهران و برادرانش مسئول نگهداری از مادر است. عزیز که همسر خودرا سالیان پیش از دست داده عشق خود را نسبت به فرد دیگری با خانواده مطرح می‌کند. فرزندان عزیز کنجکاوانه در پی یافتن این شخص هستند. در پایان همگی متوجه می‌شوند که عزیز عاشق جوان‌ترین پسر خود شده است.

Sunday, November 3, 2024

CAMH Auditorium | 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto
Reception at 3:30 PM with art, snacks and refreshments
Box office: 4 PM | Film: 5 PM

RECEPTION

To reserve your reception tickets ($20, includes food, art, socializing & film) please contact I2CRC at 416-388-9314 or info@i2crc.org.

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Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre

IF YOU ASK ME

2024 | CANADA | SHORT FILMS | 60 MINUTES | WORLD PREMIERE | ENGLISH

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. 

STREAMING NOW

Streaming online November 4-11 (available in Canada)

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SHORT FILMS FROM SCOTTISH MENTAL HEALTH ARTS FESTIVAL

Various artists | Scotland | Documentary + Fiction | 60 minutes | Festival organizers in attendance

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.

STREAMING NOW

Streaming online November 4-11
(available in Canada)

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Malu

Pedro Freire | 2024 | Brazil | Fiction | 100 minutes | Brazilian Portuguese with English subtitles | Canadian Premiere

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

STREAMING NOW

Streaming online November 4-11
(available in Canada)

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Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre
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1001 Days

Zikethiwe Ngcobo & Chloe White | 2023 | South Africa, United Kingdom | Documentary | 94 minutes | Zulu and English with English subtitles | North American Premiere

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

NOW STREAMING

Streaming online November 4-11
(available in Canada)

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WaaPaKe (Tomorrow)

Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin | 2023 | Canada (Attawapiskat) | Documentary | 80 minutes | English

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.

Shane Belcourt is a four-time CSA-nominated Director, with award-winning narrative and documentary works in both film and TV.  He has directed three narrative feature films, TKARONTO (which was showcased in both the TIFF Indigenous Cinema Retrospective and the UCLA Film & Television Archive traveling exhibition, “Through Indian Eyes: Native American Cinema”); RED ROVER (premiered at the Whistler Film Festival and can be found on Amazon Prime  Currently, Shane is directing the feature documentary NADAAMAAIS which received Telefilm funding and set for release in 2025; and is a co-creator and co-showrunner (with Tasha Hubbard) of a premium narrative mini-series in development with CBC titled, STONECHILD.

OPENING NIGHT FILM

Friday, October 25, 2024
CAMH Auditorium | 1025 Queen St W, Toronto
Reception at 5 PM (all are welcome) with art, snacks and refreshments
Box office: 5:30 PM | Film 6:30 PM

NOW STREAMING
Online worldwide for free

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I don’t need to ask you to love me because i love myself

Recent short films by Workman Arts artist members

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

2024 | CANADA | SHORT FILMS | 60 MINUTES | ENGLISH with open captions

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

Flowery | DIR. TK Workman | Canada | 2024 | 1′ (19 seconds) | ANIMATION
Spotting the Trauma Survivor | DIR. Andrea Thompson | Canada | 2023 | 5′ | EXP / ESSAY
3 seconds in 6 seconds out | DIR. Christopher Beaulieu | Canada | 2022 | 17 | FICTION
the body reclaiming project | DIR. Gabe Gonçalves | Canada | 2024 | 2 | EXP / ANIMATION
The Sweetest Goodbye | DIR. Emily Schooley | Canada | 2023 | 14 | FICTION
Whirling World Walking | DIR. Helen Posno | Canada | 2024 | 2 | EXP / ESSAY
I dont need to ask you to love me because i love myself | DIR. Jet Coughlan | Canada | 2021 | 3 | EXP
Dance Me | DIR. Jamila Balde | Canada | 2023 | 5 | FICTION
Broken | DIR. Brian Demoskoff | Canada | 2023 | 2 | EXP
Teddy | DIR Ardene Shapiro | Canada | 2024 | 2.5 | DOC / ESSAY
a collective loss | DIR Jeyolyn Christi | Canada | 2024 | 2 | DOC / ESSAY
As the Crow Flies | DIR Zan Redcrow | Canada | 2024 | 6 | DOC / ESSAY

STREAMING NOW

Streaming online November 4-11 (available in Canada)

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My Dad’s Tapes

Kurtis Watson | 2023 | Canada | Documentary | 82 minutes | English | Director in attendance

GENRE: Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: Family, Suicide, Trauma, Youth

“On August 9, 2006, Leonard Watson dropped off his eight-year-old son Kurtis at summer camp. That’s the last time anyone saw him. No bags packed, no calls, no activity in the bank account, no note: Watson disappeared, leaving his family behind. He was considered missing until 30 days later, when he was found dead by apparent suicide.

Fourteen years later, Kurtis Watson discovers a trove of home videos—hundreds of hours recorded by his father leading up to his death—a discovery that inspires a painstaking search for answers in recorded moments, family testimonials, and conversations with people connected to the event in any way, including the Watson family themselves, who come together for the first time to talk about the weight of this memory in their lives. Discoveries of small details lead to impactful and revelatory moments for them, revealing an ever-present stigma around mental health. My Dad’s Tapes documents the tremendously brave embrace of a reality in which some of our most burning questions may forever be unanswered. To hold each other close is all that matters."

– Hot Docs

Featuring Director Kurtis Watson, Producer Rob Viscardis, family members as well as mental health advocate Valéry Brosseau and moderated by filmmaker and film programmer Mariam Zaidi.

Mariam Zaidi is a filmmaker, film programmer, and arts manager based in Toronto. She has worked on programming teams at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival since 2016 and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival since 2020, respectively. Previously, Zaidi was the Executive Director of the Breakthroughs Film Festival. Aside from festival programming, Zaidi has also made short films that have been supported by the National Film Board of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the CBC. Most recently she worked on the distribution and impact campaigns for the Canadian films, Academy-Award Nominated, To Kill a Tiger (TIFF, 2023) and An Unfinished Journey (Hot Docs, 2024).

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Streaming online November 4-11
(available in Canada)

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Behind the Scenes Insights on Directing the
Award-Winning Documentary BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS

To celebrate the Canadian premiere of the German film BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS at Rendezvous With Madness, join us for an insightful talk about filmmaking featuring accomplished director Astrid Menzel.

The film BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS is streaming across Canada from November 6 – 12. You do not have to watch the film before attending the seminar but it is encouraged. The film page is found here Tickets to watch the film online are purchased through a donation of $0 -20. 

SEMINAR – Behind the Scenes Insights on Directing the Award-Winning Documentary BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS

Filmmaker Astrid Menzel explores the process of directing a feature film, dissecting her latest documentary BLUE SKY WHITE CLOUDS. Participants of this seminar will walk away with a deeper understanding of various aspects of film direction, production and techniques as well as uncover personal insights about the highs and lows of the process, including:

Topics Covered

  • Different aspects and challenges of filming one’s own family.
  • How to turn subjective thoughts and struggles into a dramaturgical outline of an intensive and personal documentary.
  • The mix of materials and techniques used during the editing of the film.
  • Open Q&A
Monday, November 13, 2023

5:30 – 7:00 PM
Artscape Youngplace
180 Shaw Street, Toronto, Unit 302

The cost of this seminar is free 
Capacity is 20

STREAMING NOW
November 6 - 12, 2023
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