We’re thrilled to be presenting a special 25th-ish anniversary screening of the seminal film Safe by
Todd Haynes which was presented at the third Rendezvous With Madness in 1995. This retrospective
could not be more timely given the current coronavirus pandemic we’ve all been living through since
spring 2020; nor can the serendipitous timing of Halloween; this is a quintessential horror film as seen
through the character of Carol White (played magnificently by Julianne Moore).

Set in 1987, the film follows White, a well-to-do California housewife who suddenly finds herself struggling to breathe while doctors continually insist that nothing is amiss with her health. Before long, Carol self diagnoses herself to be reacting to the toxic chemicals around her stating emphatically that she’s “allergic to the 20th century.” When Safe was originally released many viewers viewed Carol’s
plight as a metaphor for the HIV/AIDS epidemic; in 2021 it’s both that pandemic and the current one
that will leave their marks on you long after the film’s credits roll.

SCREENING WITH FORM 1
Jubal Brown | 2021 | Canada | English | 13 min
Commissioned by the non-profit organization Asylum From Psychiatry and Marta McKenzie, this
film is largely based on patient experiences in the mental health care systems in Canada. Found
footage sourced from movies and television are used to create an abstract narrative illustrating the
traumas experienced by patients in psychiatric institutions.

Keywords: Chemical Sensitivity | Environmental Illness| Family | Trauma | Virus

“I wanted to bring up the behaviour that we
all exhibit around illness, particularly in the
way we try to attach meaning and personal responsibility to illness and how much illness
and identity are mixed up with each other,
… Safe feels like this allegory about all kinds
of indeterminate and imprecise notions of
health, well-being and immunity in peril.”
—Todd Haynes

We are pleased to co-present the ReelAbilities Film Festival screening of The World Is Bright – a riveting Canadian documentary following the epic 10-year journey of a Chinese couple searching for the truth behind their son’s death in Canada. On May 30th at 2 PM, audiences are invited to watch The World Is Bright, which will be followed by a panel about Mental health and Immigration at 4:30 PM.

What happens when inpatients of a psychiatric institution are being encouraged to get married to each other and build lives together within the hospital grounds? The Marriage Project, a thematically unique and intriguing Iranian documentary, tells you just that. The film is set almost entirely in Ehsan’s House, a psychiatric facility in southern Tehran housing around 500 patients. With unprecedented access to the hospital’s communal spaces and events, Directors Atieh Attarzadeh and Hesam Eslami chronicle a bold project conducted by the hospital’s director, Dr. Farhad Ramezanejad. Historically, the hospital has always segregated men and women. But Ramezanejad proposes a social experiment – he advocates for patients to form relationships, get married and live as a family within Ehsan’s House. Facing scrutiny from his colleagues and a variety of responses from the patients, Ramezanejad is determined to get the project off the ground. But are Ehsan’s House’s patients ready to get married? And who exactly should decide that?

چه اتفاقی می افتد اگر بیماران یک مرکز روانپزشکی تشویق به ازدواج یکدیگر شوند و شروع به زندگی مشترک داخل مرکز درمانی کنند؟ پروژه ازدواج، مستندی منحصر به فرد و جذاب است که بر حول محور همین سوال می گردد. این فیلم تقریبا به طور کامل در خانه ی احسان، یک مرکز روانپزشکی در جنوب تهران که حدود ۵۰۰ بیمار را در خود جای می دهد، می گذرد. عطیه عطارزاده و حسام اسلامی کارگردانان این فیلم، در فیلم خود پروژه ی خیره انگیز مدیر این مرکز روانپزشکی، فرهاد رمضان نژاد را روایت می کنند. به طور معمول، زنان از مردان در این بیمارستان جدا زندگی می کنند. اما آقای رمضان نژاد تجربه ی اجتماعی جدیدی را پیشنهاد می کند– او بیماران خود را تشویق به ایجاد رابطه، ازدواج و زندگی مشترک در خانه ی احسان می کند. رمضان نژاد با اینکه با  موجی از انتقادات از سوی برخی از همکارانش و بیماران مرکز روبرو است، مصمم است تا این پروژه را عملی کند. اما آیا بیماران مرکز روانپزشکی احسان آماده ی ازدواج هستند؟ و دقیقاً چه کسی باید در این باره تصمیم بگیرد؟

Screening with

If I Die Please Delete My Soundcloud
Natasha Matila-Smith | 2019 | Aotearoa / New Zealand | English with English subtitles | 8 minutes

Captured on video stillness, wondering and a matrix of existential dread. “In the middle of a sleepless night a variety of digital devices provide comfort and distraction for a restless mind. But does it help?”

How do we imagine conventional clinical spaces in relation to how we imagine life in the wider world? The Marriage Project allows us to consider ideas of personhood, love, and choices in the realm of institutionalized settings and what a lack of those experiences might suggest. The themes for this panel are centred on Iranian perspectives on mental health and relationships as well as alternative forms of therapy and community. 

چگونه می توان فضاهای متعارف درمانی را در ارتباط با زندگی خارج از آن تصور کنیم؟ پروژه ازدواج این امکان را فراهم می کند تا ایده هایی از قبیل فردیت، عشق و حق انتخاب را در حیطه ی فضاهای سازمانی بررسی کنیم و به تاثیر نبود این تجربیات هم بپردازیم. موضوعات این جلسه متمرکز بر دیدگاه های ایرانی در رابطه با سلامت روح و روان است و به آلترناتیوهای درمان و جامعه هم می پردازد.    

A North Korean housewife, Ryun-hee Kim went to China to receive healthcare only to end up in South Korea trying to pay off her medical debts. Once she was discovered by South Korean authorities, she was alleged of being a North Korean spy and forced to become a South Korean citizen. Separated from her family with no hope of seeing them again, Ryun-hee starts her extensive and harrowing fight to return home. She tries to smuggle herself out of South Korea, first by seeking political asylum and then organizes protests to raise awareness about North Korean citizens trapped in South Korea against their will. Her far-reaching attempts to reunite with her family don’t stand a chance against aggressive propaganda tactics and ongoing complex politics between two countries. After seven years of continuous struggle, Ryun-hee dreads the growing distance between her and her family as their reunion seems far away and improbable.

In Shadow Flowers, viewers are invited into an observational space to question preconceived notions of what freedom grants and what oppression might look like. The polarizing narratives about North and South Korea looms above Ryun-hee Kim and her simple desire to return to family. Join the Q&A with director Seung-Jun Yi to discuss the isolating effects of being caught in liminal spaces dictated by bureaucracy as it pertains to North and South Korean relations. Moderated by Jack Kim, board chair of HanVoice.

Nocturne is the story of a family. The documentary follows Seong-ho, a young piano virtuoso living with autism. With an extraordinary talent in music, his mother and primary caretaker dedicates her whole life building a career for her son as a professional musician. In contrast, Seong-ho’s younger brother, Gun-ki is relegated to a world of video games and television. Gun-ki’s resentment slowly begins to grow when he is forced to give up his own interest in music to maintain Seong-ho’s spotlight. Moreover, Gun-ki feels like he has been neglected by his mother, who spends most of her time taking care of Seong-ho and trying to advance his career. When the two brothers embark on an independent European trip, the already contentious brotherly relationship crashes into chaos. It also poses some difficult questions: what will happen to Seong-ho if his mother is no longer there? Will Gun-ki have his back, or will his music legacy crumble?

Screening with

Animal Calling
Candice Dixon | 2020 | Canada | English | 6 minutes | Ontario Premiere

A short documentary following a recently-graduated, young veterinarian as she enjoys a rare, relaxing morning in her serene country home. As she reflects on the mental health crisis currently impacting veterinary medicine, we’re intermittently transported to her place of work and shown the emotional and psychological challenges faced by those working in animal care.

Sibling dynamics are unique by nature; sometimes, it swings from moments of companionship to moments of competition. In the case of the family in Nocturne, the subject of autism adds another layer of relational negotiation as they seek to understand how to manage acts of care and responsibility. What are some of the realities that individuals on the autism spectrum face when they navigate the world independently and what pressures and expectations do their core support networks face? Join moderator Kat Singer and panelists Azed Majeed and Aidan Lee as they dive deeper into how these complexities are presented in Nocturne.

The World is Bright follows the real-life journey of an elderly Chinese couple searching for the truth behind their son Shi-Ming’s sudden death in Canada. Shi-Ming was buried before his parents living in Beijing were notified. Over ten years, director Ying Wang documents Shi-Ming’s parents as they enter a long and arduous legal battle to understand how their son – a young Canadian immigrant – could have died. Shi-Ming’s parents are resilient in their search for truth despite language barriers and overly bureaucratic and complex processes they have to endure. The film uses re-enactments and interviews with Shi-Ming’s friends and family to thoroughly examine the intersection of immigration, family expectations and mental health. While attentively portraying the emotional and physical pains Shi-Ming’s parents go through to try and solve this case, The World is Bright exposes some ugly truths about the Canadian immigration system and its treatment of newcomers living with mental health issues.

Join us for a virtual panel with The World is Bright director Ying Wang, Shi-Ming’s family lawyer Lawrence Wong, Dr. Kenneth Fung, Clinical Director of Asian Initiative in Mental Health Program at TWH, and Bonnie Wong, Executive Director of Hong Fook Mental Health Association. The speakers will discuss mental health within immigrant communities in Canada and delve into different ways Canadian immigration law fails to accommodate and support newcomers with mental health experiences.