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

GENRE: Fiction (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, Coming out, Trauma

In the winter of 1970, a small-town plumber from rural New Brunswick must drive his beat-up work truck 1000 miles to Toronto to get his estranged, gay brother out of jail after being arrested for having sex in a public park. The two men are then forced to drive back home together at the behest of their hard-nosed mother before they kill each other. Inspired by a true story.

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

Update from Workman Arts regarding October 10 World Mental Health Day

GENRE: Documentary (feature)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON

Purportedly the first documentary feature film made in Gaza, Gaza Ghetto: Portrait of a Palestinian Family highlights the historical precedents of war, dispossession and military control that influence a family’s daily life in the Jabalia refugee camp. Intimate scenes – a child is born, a grandmother dies – are inter-cut with visits to the architects of the Israeli military occupation. 

Gaza Ghetto follows the El-Adel family: Itidhal and Mustafa and their many children, including Ra’ida Abdullah, Samar, Shuroug, Riham and Ayed. We see the family’s humdrum daily routines: waking up grumpy, getting dressed for school, brushing their hair, and attending morning prayer at the UNRWA Jabalia Girls’ Preparatory School. The film provides historical context through archival footage from 1948 when the original Israeli invasion of Palestine displaced some 150,000 people, and 1967, when the Six-Day War resulted in the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and the displacement of a further 300,000 people. We see scenes of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, where Mustafa works as a healthcare provider alongside an inadequate international response—the United Nations and Quaker volunteers distributing meager rations—and the grueling daily grind endured by the working-age men and women of the camp, who leave the camp before dawn each day and spend several hours commuting to Tel Aviv or Jaffa to then spend hours, and sometimes entire fruitless days, soliciting jobs in an informal day-labor market.

Discussion to follow with mental health / health care workers/supporters on the theme of workplace mental health to connect to the 2024 World Mental Health Day theme. Participants include Mohamed Abdelhack, Sarah Abusarar, Rayan Anton and Dr. Yipeng Ge.

Mohamed Abdelhack is a Postdoctoral Fellow at CAMH studying neural dynamics of psychiatric disorders using machine learning. He is also the founder of Arabs in Neuroscience, a grassroots organization that aims to improve education in Arab countries and create a network for Arabic-speaking neuroscientists. He is a recipient of Canada Brain Starts Award and The Neuro – Irv & Helga Cooper Foundation Open Science Prize. He originates from Alexandria, Egypt and has international experience working in Japan, the United States, and South Africa.

Rayan Anton MSW, RSW is a Palestinian Social Worker and Psychotherapist. He is a first-generation immigrant from occupied Palestine, and moved here at a young age with his family in hopes of finding a life free of danger and oppression. He works largely with the Arab community and also the 2SLGBTQ community here in Toronto. He is the co-founder of Meem Toronto – a social group for queer and trans people from the Arabic-speaking region.

Dr. Yipeng Ge is a primary care physician and public health practitioner based on the traditional, unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg. In his clinical practice, he works in family medicine practice and refugee health at a community health centre. He has worked on and studied the structural and colonial determinants of health in both the settler colonial contexts of so-called Canada and occupied Palestine. Having witnessed the atrocities in Gaza firsthand as a humanitarian medical volunteer, Dr. Ge leverages his direct experiences to raise awareness and educate the Canadian public about global injustices.

‘In this bold experimental documentary, four artists talk about suicide: the role the recurring thought has played in their life and art, the struggle to understand and overcome the impulse, and the ongoing confrontation with a form of stigma that renders the very concept of suicide as a kind of pariah even among mental health issues and discussions. With a frankness that is both bracing and illuminating, Artist Steve Sanguedolce’s subjects tell their stories, and the filmmaker responds with a striking visual scheme that permits us something rarely attempted in the engagement with this most misunderstood of conditions: a sense of first person understanding.’

– Geoff Pevere 

Film subjects + actors: Marina Black, Maria de Sanctis, Janieta Eyre, Michael Hoolboom, Vivien Kiss, Lulu Hazel Turnbull, Emily Vey Duke.

Filmmaker: Steve Sanguedolce has been an active member of Toronto’s independent film community for over thirty years winning numerous international awards.  He has had retrospectives at the Cinematheque Quebecoise in Montreal, the National Film Board in Toronto as well as the the Arsenal Institute for Film and Video in Germany.  Over the past 15 years he has been hand developing and hand colouring motion picture film to great acclaim.  Much of his time has been spent teaching at local universities, community colleges or conducting independent filmmaking workshops across Canada..  His work incorporates documentary, narrative and experimental genres.  His film work include Blinding (2011), Dead Time (2005), Smack (2000) and Away (1996). He lives Toronto. 

Programmer: Scott Miller Berry, Managing Director and Programmer, Rendezvous with Madness, Toronto, Canada.  Scott has been working at film festivals for 20+ years – previously as Director of the Images Festival and now at Rendezvous. He’s also a film programmer, instructor and mentor. Since 2009 he has presented touring screenings in Jakarta, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore, Bangkok and Amsterdam, among others. Scott also makes short diary films and is on the Board of the Toronto Media Arts Centre and Long Winter Music + Arts Festival.

Rendezvous With Madness và Hoa Quynh Cinema giới thiệu:

“LAND OF KNOWING NOTHING” (Steve Sanguedolce, 2017, 72 phút)

“Trong bộ phim tài liệu thể nghiệm táo bạo này, bốn nghệ sĩ nói về tự tử: ý nghĩ về việc tái diễn nó đã đóng vai trò như nào trong cuộc sống và trong các thực hành nghệ thuật của họ, những khó khăn để hiểu và vượt qua được cám dỗ của cái chết cũng như cuộc đấu tranh trường kỳ với sự kỳ thị đã khiến khái niệm về tự tử bị bỏ qua như nào trong các cuộc thảo luận về sức khỏe tâm thần. Với sự chân thành mãnh liệt, những nhân vật của tác giả Steve Sanguedolce đã kể lại câu chuyện của mình trong phim. Bằng việc phản hồi lại những câu chuyện đó qua một đường dây hình ảnh ấn tượng, nhà làm phim đem đến cho chúng ta một trải nghiệm mang tính cá nhân hiếm thấy khi đưa người xem trực tiếp tiếp cận với câu chuyện qua một trong những phương diện dễ bị hiểu lầm nhất: cảm thức thấu hiểu từ góc nhìn thứ nhất.” – Geoff Pevere

 – Geoff Pevere

Phim nói tiếng Anh và phụ đề tiếng Việt

Thời gian: 7h30 tối thứ bảy, 9 tháng 12 

Địa điểm: babau AIR, 82A Thợ Nhuộm

Buổi chiếu phim sẽ có sự tham gia góp mặt của tác giả Steve Sanguedolce và giám tuyển chương trình Scott Miller Berry, Giám đốc điều hành và người sáng lập chương trình Rendezvous with Madness, Toronto, Canada.

Steve Sanguedolce là một thành viên tích cực trong cộng đồng phim độc lập của Toronto trong hơn ba mươi năm và đã giành nhiều giải thưởng quốc tế. Anh đã có các buổi triển lãm tại Cinematheque Quebecoise ở Montreal, National Film Board ở Toronto cũng như Arsenal Institute for Film and Video ở Đức. Trong 15 năm qua, anh đã tự tráng rửa, tô màu bằng tay cho những bộ phim và nhận được sự khen ngợi nồng nhiệt. Anh đã dành nhiều thời gian giảng dạy tại các trường đại học địa phương, trường cao đẳng cộng đồng hoặc tổ chức các khóa học làm phim độc lập trên khắp Canada. Công việc của anh bao gồm các thể loại phim tài liệu, phim truyện và thử nghiệm. Các tác phẩm điện ảnh của anh bao gồm Blinding (2011), Dead Time (2005), Smack (2000) và Away (1996). Anh hiện sống ở Toronto. 

Scott Miller Berry, Giám đốc điều hành và người sáng lập chương trình Rendezvous with Madness, Toronto, Canada. Scott đã và đang làm việc tại các liên hoan phim trong hơn 20 năm – nguyên giám đốc của The Images Festival và hiện làm việc tại Rendezvous. Anh cũng là một film programmer, giảng viên và người hướng dẫn. Kể từ năm 2009, anh đã tổ chức các buổi chiếu phim diễn tại Jakarta, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore, Bangkok và Amsterdam, và nhiều nơi khác. Scott cũng làm phim ngắn nhật ký và là thành viên Hội đồng Quản trị của Trung tâm Nghệ thuật Truyền thông Toronto và Liên hoan Âm nhạc và Nghệ thuật Long Winter.

GENRE: DOCUMENTARY
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS:  ISOLATION | ADDICTION | HOMELESSNESS | TRAUMA | ABUSE |  MENTAL HEALTH

Canadian filmmaker Stephen Hosier focuses the lens of his feature debut uncomfortably close to home as he joins his childhood friend, Richard Csanyi, in investigating the life and death of the latter’s twin brother, Attila. Found dead on a Hamilton rooftop in May 2020, the 28-year-old was expelled from a long-term care residence even as he grappled with addiction and schizophrenia. 

A creative expression of grief and healing, this stirring home-grown film compassionately explores the intersection of personal trauma and the systems that fail those in need, while striving toward a place of forgiveness and understanding. ATTILA is a beautiful portrait honouring one man’s tragedy and the family he left behind, while providing the audience with a valuable window into the extreme systemic obstacles experienced by far too many in Canada and around the world.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 marks the 75th Anniversary of World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme  is ‘mental health is a universal human right’. The sentiment aligns with the ambitions of ATTILA the film. In presenting an authentic and local portrayal of homelessness, addiction and schizophrenia, we hope to destigmatize these circumstances and create a space for dynamic conversation that leads to change. 

Join us after the film screening for a post-film panel discussion moderated by Aisha Jamal (filmmaker and film programmer) featuring Dr. Naheed Dosani (palliative care physician and health justice activist), Chris Summerville (Schizophrenia Society of Canada), Diana Chan McNally (community and crisis worker) and other special guests to be announced.

GENRE: DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE), DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: NEURODIVERGENCY | SIGN LANGUAGE | FAMILY

Janet Sharrock and Buddha Barnes are in dire need of a holiday, but the universe has other plans. Together, along with the couple’s five adult children, they form a blended, neurodiverse family. Their exhausted and cash-strapped family must routinely navigate financial hardships in addition to the challenges that neurodivergent individuals face day-to-day. Their modest lives aren’t society’s ideal, but they never stop fighting to make it work.

Because We Have Each Other tells a tender tale about seven people overcoming adversity by putting their unwavering love and support for one another above all else. Australian filmmaker Sari Braithwaite’s documentary paints an intimate portrait of working-class struggle. Braithwaite places an achingly revealing spotlight on the forces that strengthen and weaken family bonds. Because We Have Each Other delivers a heartfelt and inspiring tale about how unconditional love and acceptance help people find resilience in the face of life’s greatest challenges.

Screening with Short Film

Regard Silence | Santiago Zermeño | Mexico | Doc | 2022 | 29 minutes | Spanish with English subtitles with open captions

Regard Silence shows several deaf people participating in a poetry workshop. Their attempts to express themselves are alternated in the film with individual interviews about being a deaf person communicating in a hearing world. How does it affect one’s sense of self-worth to learn sign language after years of lip reading? – IDFA

GENRE: VARIOUS
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORKDS: ADDICTION | TRAUMA | MENTAL HEALTH | YOUTH

For the sixth consecutive year, If You Ask Me (IYAM) has supported emerging filmmakers with lived mental health and/or addiction experience to create new short works. This year’s program features shorts by filmmakers from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). 

These new films were developed from July – September 2023 under the guidance of Robin Riad, along with IYAM alumni Gladys Lou and Esteban Powell serving as mentors. Over the course of three months, filmmakers strengthened their film production skills in the company of peers and industry guests. Rendezvous With Madness is excited to support the production and exhibition of these distinctly personal creative works. 

Equipment rentals and facilities were generously provided by our community sponsor, Trinity Square Video.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: FILMMAKING NOW

The world has changed substantially since If You Ask Me started. This year’s cohort of filmmakers adapted their practices to ever-changing social realities. Join the in-person panel discussion to learn how each artist developed their films.

GENRE: DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE), DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
TYPE: FILM | IN-PERSON
KEYWORDS: BIPOLAR DISORDER | SCHIZOPHRENIA | MISSING PERSON | FAMILY | UNORTHODOX TREATMENT

Noella Luka’s riveting autobiographical documentary deftly explores the grief of dreams diverted by a bipolar diagnosis and the vulnerability of searching for the right support and community while navigating new and difficult life changes. Her plans to live and work in film abroad are cut short by her initial hospitalization, and she returns home to Kenya where mental health issues remain strictly taboo. Once there, she decides to document and dig into the how and why of her condition, running up against tradition, prejudice, and uncertainty, which makes even discussing the subject of illness uncomfortable for both family and friends. With a lack of references to guide them, those close to her are truly unsure of what this shift in circumstance really means. Undaunted, Luka looks for further understanding and a sense of community in a mental health support group, where she befriends newly diagnosed schizophrenic Nick–a man who recently returned home from Colombia after putting an end to his quest to become a Catholic priest. Through Nick, viewers are given a unique and disturbing opportunity to observe how certain mental illnesses are still viewed and treated, even in the 21st century. In exploring their unique situations, Luka gives voice to all those navigating the often uncharted waters of mental health–for those both with and without support systems in place–and offers a truly inspiring story of hope, change and possibility.

Screening with Short Film

Katanga Nation | Beza Hailu Lemma, Hiwot Admasu Getaneh | Ethiopia, South Africa | Doc | 2022 | 26 minutes | Amharic with English Subtitles 

Enkehone, naive but ambitious and from rural Ethiopia, lives in a hostel in the bustling neighborhood of Katanga. His host, Amele, lives in the back room of the dorms she rents out. As the path to his dreams unfold in uncertainty, Enkehone witnesses the raw, chaotic, and captivating life of his host family and their community in the last days of Katanga before it is engulfed by the monstrous construction of Addis Ababa.