Streaming across Canada October 27th to November 6th
BIGGER THAN TRAUMA
Vedrana Pribacic | 2022 | Croatia | 90 minutes | Croatian with English subtitles
Rendezvous With Madness is pleased to present the extraordinary documentary film Bigger Than Trauma directed by Vedrana Pribacic available for streaming across Canada from October 27th to November 6th
The brutal Croatian War of Independence came to an end in 1995, but survivors of the conflict continue to feel its devastating effects almost 30 years later. Justice has been slow in coming–if it comes at all–and institutional supports are few and far between, particularly for women who continue to live side-by-side with the very men who captured, tortured and raped them.
Vedrana Pribacic’s Bigger Than Trauma is an intimate portrait of a group of Serbian and Croatian women who join a groundbreaking and unconventional therapy group to break their long-held silences, share their individual experiences and empower them to begin the long road to healing. However, their journey is not without its fair share of obstacles of pain revisited, cultural friction and resentment. In this tender setting, his documentary gives voice to the oft-forgotten and ignored victims of war for their own self-determination after trauma.
Screening with
Yaren and the Sun | 2021 | Joren Slaets, Renate Raman | Belgium | 19 minutes | Dutch with English subtitles
Yaren’s mother died when she was six. Her friend Kato’s father died a year ago. Yet the atmosphere in a therapeutic summer camp is far from mournful when one of the supervisors dances with a girl to the lively song “La Bamba.” It’s fine to have fun, the children learn—it can coexist with sadness.
Keywords: Women’s Issues | Trauma | War | Mutual Aid | Healing
Genre: Documentary (feature) Documentary (short)
#RWMFEST #MoreThanRebellion
Image Design: Dorothy Ogda Laxton “Trigger Warning”
In person screening — Sunday, October 30th at 5pm
Camh Auditorium
1025 Queen Street West, Toronto
Streaming across Canada October 27th to November 6th
UPON, REFLECTION: RECENT SHORT FILMS BY WORKMAN ARTS AND SATELLITE MEMBERS
W.I PISTOLARY | Conilyn Herrera | Canada | 2022 | 4 minutes
EXPRESS YOURSELF | Sirene Qureshi & Luis Estores | Canada | 2018 | 4 minutes
THE HALLWAY | Zan Redcrow | Canada | 2022 | 3 minutes
HYPOTHETICALLY FEBRUARY 15 | Jasmine Vanstone | Canada | 2022 | 4 minutes
TORONTO INTERLUDE | Christine Waloszczyk | Canada | 2022 | 5 minutes
TRIGGER WARNING | Dorothy Ogda Laxton | Canada | 2022 | 36 minutes
October 30th at Rendezvous With Madness enjoy an in person screening of recent short films by Workman Arts and Satellite members. Post-film screening talk with filmmakers moderated by James Buffin
Upon, Reflection is an anthology of recent short films by Workman Arts members and Satellite program artists. Filmmaking is a medium that allows us to tell stories and reflect on our own personal journeys. Each film presented in this series speaks to the vastness of storytelling and how it can transform us to make lasting and meaningful connections.
For accessibility Upon, Reflection: Recent Short Films By Workman Arts And Satellite Members is also available online via Workman Arts & Cinesend from October 27th to November 6th 2022
For accessibility Mis Dos Voces / My Two Voices and Under the Full Moon are also available online via Workman Arts & Cinesend from October 27th to November 6th, 2022
Keywords: Artists | Experimentation | Healing | Resilience
Genre: Shorts
#RWMFEST #MoreThanRebellion
Films from Workman Arts’ Satellite program were made possible thanks to generous support from The Slaight Family Foundation.
Streaming across Canada October 27th to November 6th
MIDWASTE
2021 | Liz Roberts | USA | 23 Minutes | English
Artist spotlight
Rendezvous With Madness is pleased to present the short film Midwaste directed by Liz Roberts available for streaming across Canada from October 27th to November 6th
Midwaste addresses the Midwest region, midlife, and various notions of wasted. Roberts’ connection to drug subculture is inextricable from her relationship to the camera. She started making Super 8 films as a teen, shooting friends she became intimate with in circles of drug use. Her methods are palpable and relational; retracing her steps, interviewing friends about their memories of the past, and revisiting footage taken at various stages of her youth.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Liz Roberts is running a virtual workshop on Tuesday, November 1 on creating autobiographical films please visit workmanarts.com for more details.
Keywords: Artist | Healing | Addiction | Autobiography
Genre: Short
#RWMFEST #MoreThanRebellion
Michelle Melles / 2021 / English / Canada / 77 mins / World Premiere
What does it mean to be normal in a world gone mad? That’s the question at the heart of writer-director Michelle Melles’ poignant documentary, Drunk on Too Much Life. The film strives to change how people perceive those with mental health issues, framing their conditions as potentially insightful gifts rather than burdensome disorders.
Drunk on Too Much Life focuses on Melles’ daughter, Corrina, a young woman who experiences intense and sometimes painful emotional and psychic states. Corrina describes herself as “being trapped inside her own mind games.” Now, after years of doctors, medications and mental health facility check-ins, her family starts exploring healing methods outside of standard biomedical models. These holistic methods positively impact Corrina, reflecting the healing power of art, creativity and meaningful human connection.
SCREENING WITH SOUND GARDEN
Jeamin Cha | 2019 | South Korea | 30 min | Korean with English subtitles
Sound Garden alternates between scenes of large trees being transported and interviews with South Korean female
mental health workers who reflect on counselling’s ambivalence and complexity. The film highlights
the discrepancy between these cultivated trees, designed to thrive in urban surroundings, and the
human spirit, shaped and affected by our modern values and evolving social environments.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: PANEL DISCUSSION
Join director Michelle Melles and family members Corinna and Kevin virtually as they share their
thoughts on this personal documentary. They’ll be joined by others and will delve into different
ways Canadian mental health programs and health care succeeds and fails to accommodate and
support young people in their healing.
Keywords: Alternative healing | Family | Health care | Schizophrenia | Trauma
ALSO OF INTEREST
PROCESSING DURATION: RECENT SHORT FILMS BY WORKMAN ARTS MEMBERS
Various artists / 2018-2021 / Canada / 60 Mins+
Processing Duration is an anthology of recent short films by Workman Arts member artists that contemplate subjects of service, restriction, healing and embodied time. Through movement, ritual,
montage and song, these short films highlight nuance and storytelling. Ice On The Window Like A
Thousand Small Bees, Troubled Amplitude and Ice Into Fire experiment with urban and natural environments as a way to work through layered feelings. Looking inwards, the films Therapy Fragments Body Language, Fuck, Romberg’s Sign and The Space Without use self-documentation to explore vulnerability, growth, and resilience. While, the films Disability Video, The Beats, and Melody prove
the power of nature, music and narrative.
BODY LANGUAGE (Tara Clews | 2019 | 2 min)
DISABILITY VIDEO (Sirene Koser Qureshi | 2021 | 2 min)
FUCK (Emily Schooley | 2021 | 3 min)
ICE INTO FIRE (Anja Sagan | 2020 | 12 min)
ICE ON THE WINDOW LIKE A THOUSAND SMALL BEES (Catherine Jones | 2020 | 3 min)
MELODY (John Perera | 2021 | 3 min)
ROMBERG’S SIGN (Laura Shintani | 2021 | 2 min)
THE BEAST (Amy Ness | 2021 | 10 min)
THERAPY FRAGMENTS (Blanca Lopez | 2021 | 13 min)
THE SPACE WITHOUT (Emily Sweet | 2019 | 3 min)
TROUBLED AMPLITUDE (Jan Swinburne | 2018 | 9 min)
Keywords: Artists | Experimentation | Healing | Music | Resilience
COMMUNITY PARTNER
CO-PRESENTERS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
FILMMAKERS Q&A
Join the filmmakers for an in-person and virtual Q&A ; moderated by filmmaker James Buffin
ALSO OF INTEREST
- Available to stream online: Sat, Oct 17, 7:00pm to Mon, Oct 19, 7:00pm
Streaming of this film is available to viewers worldwide.
Sidse Torstholm Larsen, Sturla Pilskog / 2019 / Greenlandic, English, Danish with English Subtitles / Kalaallit Nunaat / Greenland / Denmark / Norway / 75 min / Toronto Premiere
GENRE: DOCUMENTARY
TYPE: FILM
Winter’s Yearning is an eye-opening portrait documentary of the small fishing town of Maniitsoq, Greenland, which has been selected as the next plant location for US aluminium giant ALCOA. An aluminium plant could provide a useful step towards Greenlandic independence. However, visions of the anticipated windfall fade into a waiting game. Directors Sidse Torstholm Larsen and Sturla Pilskog intertwine the lives of three Maniitsoq residents: a social worker, a young woman and the town’s ‘aluminium coordinator’. Through attentively layering their stories, situations and personal efforts towards self-sufficiency, the atmosphere of a small-town yearning for progression and change is beautifully portrayed.
Screening with
Carlotta’s Face
Valentin Riedl and Frédéric Schuld | 2018 | Germany | German with English subtitles | 5 minutes
Carlotta’s Face illuminates a relationship dysfunction in its sensitive portrayal of a woman who suffers from prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize faces, and her salvation through art.
ACCESSIBILITY
ASL Interpreted, Open Captions, Active Listener
An Active Listener will be available Mon, Oct 19 from 7-9pm to support this program.
Your active listener for this program is Amanda.
You can connect with Amanda by phone (talk or text) at (647) 696-0893 or by email at amanda.virtualdesk@gmail.com.
CO-PRESENTED WITH
