Every now and then, a film comes along that rips out your heart and shreds it to pieces. Director Jessica Nilsson’s staggering documentary The Testament of Oliver chronicles her friendship with Oliver Juvonen-Peel. Oliver has schizophrenia and struggles with alcohol use disorder. He drinks to cope with his psychiatric issues, but his dual diagnosis makes it challenging to find effective treatment. He reveals
to the camera that mental health facilities reject him due to his alcohol abuse, and he’s involuntarily discharged from outpatient clinics because he’s mentally ill.

The Testament of Oliver reveals what happens to the people who fall through the cracks of the healthcare system. Nilsson’s documentary offers a raw and hardhitting account of a man in dire need
of specialized treatment and support systems. Nilsson captures her dear friend’s struggles with an unflinching eye, sharing Oliver’s soaring highs and crushing lows on his arduous road to recovery.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Q&A WITH JESSICA NILSSIN & OLIVER JUVONEN-PEEL
Join us for a virtual conversation with the director and subject of the film The Testament Of Oliver. Discussion moderated by Victor Stiff member of the Toronto Film Critics Association and Rendezvous’ film programming committee.

Keywords: Addiction | Schizophrenia | Recovery

In preparation for visits from foreign dignitaries, the authorities in Tehran clear the streets of homeless people, sex workers and drug users. Those who get picked up are taken to special detention centers outside the city. Stripped of their rights, dignity and freedom, the authorities hold them there until the outside world’s eyes are directed elsewhere. Then the men are released to go back out onto the streets. But the women are not: instead, they become official state prisoners for life. First time feature film Director Behzad Nalbandi found ways around the official channels and gained access to one of the women’s prisons, where he used a sound recorder to document the harrowing stories of its inmates. Utilizing original stop-motion animation to illustrate the accounts of violence, humiliation, poverty and addiction, as well as the Director’s own impressions of the bleak detention center. Such inventive animation allows Nalbandi to offer these “invisible” women a platform without exposing their identity. What this powerful five-years-in-the-making documentary does reveal is the grim reality concerning the position of women in Iranian society—and these women in particular.

برای بازدید های مقامات عالی رتبه خارجی، مسئولان شهرداری تهران خیابان های شهر را از بی خانمان، کارگران جنسی و معتادان پاکسازی و بازداشت شدگان را به مکانی خارج از شهر انتقال می دهند. محروم از حقوق، عزت و آزادی خود مسئولین آنها را در این اماکن نگه می دارند تا زمانی که دنیای بیرون توجهش معطوف چیز دیگری شود. سپس، مردان آزاد می شوند اما زنان می مانند و تبدیل به زندانیان حکومت برای طول عمرشان می شوند. بهزاد نعلبندی با اولین فیلم بلند خود، به یکی از این زندان های زنان دسترسی پیدا کرده و با استفاده از دستگاه ضبط صدا داستان های دلخراش زندانیان را مستند کرده است. با به کارگیری خلاقانه از تکنیک استاپ موشن، این مستند–انیمیشن وضعیت خشونت، تحقیر، فقر و اعتیاد را در این اماکن به تصویر می کشد. فیلم‌ساز با انتخاب نوآورانه متریال و تکنیک متناسب با موضوع فیلم، فضایی را برای حضور این زنان “نامرئی“، بدون فاش شدن هویت شان فراهم می کند. این فیلم مستند تاثیر گذار که تولید آن ۵ سال طول کشیده است موقعیت ظالمانه و تلخ زنان را در جامعه ایران و بخصوص این زنان زندانی را نمایان می کند.

Following the screening of The Unseen, join us for a virtual panel with graphic artist and documentary filmmaker Behzad Nalbandi to discuss the addiction crisis in Tehran and the harsh realities of the city’s homeless population. Moderated by representatives from the Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre.

بعد از اتمام اکران فیلم، با ما و هنرمند گرافیست و فیلمساز بهزاد نعلبندی همراه شوید تا بیشتر درباره ی بحران اعتیاد در تهران و واقعیت های سخت جمعیت بی خانمان های شهر بحث و گفتگو کنیم.  این جلسه مجازی توسط نمایندگانی از مرکز فرهنگ ایرانی– کانادایی (Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre) مدیریت می شود. 

PSYCHOSIS is inspired by the investigation of Ronald’s mental health episode in Canada and pulls into the present to explore an awareness of adversity, reconciliation and resilience. By connecting relationships between disability, environment and the human spirit, PSYCHOSIS seeks to explore the trauma and ongoing challenges of mental health, while dealing with bouts of darkness, depression and the human psyche.

Choreographer: Ronald Taylor
Performers: Michael Mortley, Kelly La Juenesse, Anthony ‘Prime’ Guerra and Emilie Jabouin

PSYCHOSIS Process

After the show on October 12, join the cast members to discuss the intricacies of creating and performing Ronald Taylor’s PSYCHOSIS. Through an inter-sectional lens, performers and audience members will have the chance to further reflect together on the performance and the insight that it provides.