This film adaptation of the award-winning, self-mythologized facade of a rock show incorporates life-sized video projection, original music, gestural choreography and on-the-go stage props to coalesce into a black-box style theatrical spectacle meets dirty diary, exploring the elusive and dichotomous nature of queer identity. With a reliance on the grimy mustard-coloured lights and sequins of 70s glam rock aesthetics, the protagonist travels the mental collapse of a dark night of the soul, searching for purpose in a world that doesn’t care to be purposeful. Themes include rejection, broken promises, wishes on a star, deals with the devil and packing up to leave with no intention of return… leaving behind the ghost of glitter’s past.

James Knott is an emerging, Toronto-based artist, having received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Integrated Media from OCAD University. Their performance-based practice combines theatre, video and audio art to create immersive and emotionally resonant experiences for the viewer. Explored themes include: paradoxical and queer identity, inner dialogue, mental illness and camp theatrics. Currently their practice looks to house personal narratives and queer experience through poetic re-tellings, self-mythologizing, and auto-iconographic aestheticism.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Strobe Light, Loud Sounds, Nudity, Sexual Content, Self-Harm

James Knott will be participating in a virtual Q&A moderated by Francisco-Fernando Granados on Saturday, October 17, at 7 PM.

Queen Latifah Give Me Strength centers around a woman’s struggle with her identity and her expectations of being disregarded and ignored by the medical industry. Queen Latifah Give Me Strength depicts the frustration, isolation and raving madness that comes with being a Black woman who must rely on medical professionals to stay alive. After an anxiety-filled evening watching the classic 90s film, Set It Off, featuring Queen Latifah, the main character is faced with her strange connection to the celebrity. In a search for answers about her health, she turns to the icon she had once forsaken. Previous version partially developed during Emerging Creators Unit 2020 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

Rochelle R (She/They) is a Canadian-Caribbean multidisciplinary theatre artist, writer, producer and advocate for Black, Queer, Mentally Ill/Disabled communities. Rochelle is passionate about promoting and developing opportunities for Black Artists and encouraging difficult conversations about intersectionality. Rochelle holds a BA in English and Theatre Studies from the University of Guelph and continues to pursue additional training within the GTA and Peel regions. Select companies and programs include b current (Playwriting) bcHUB, Buddies in Bad Times (Play Creation) Emerging Creator’s Unit, Nightwood’s Young Innovator’s Program (Arts Administration/Producing), PIECE OF MINE Arts, dance immersion’s Legacy Leaders Program and more.

CONTENT WARNING

Mature Language, Violence, Loud Sound 

Prose In Therapy is a convergence of free form poetics and imitated therapy. This work is meant to break down the formality of medical procedures through the use of atypical document format aesthetics. The intimate and thought-provoking language used is accompanied by somewhat childish drawings that play on the somatic realities of mortality. Prose In Therapy addresses the delicate situation of being a patient in mental health recovery while verging into themes of honesty, sexuality and economic frustration. The cartoon drawings found on each page of Prose In Therapy were made in collaboration with local sketch artist Michael Vuong. These poems were all read to audiences at Toronto open-mic events including local venues Shab-e She’r and Art Bar.

Moncef Mounir was born in Rabat, Morocco. He is a poet, visual artist and the director of Quaker Kid Productions (QKP), a print media outfit with various collaborative chapbook and zine works. He has spent a decade as a skilled labourer across the City of Toronto and works as a legal assistant after receiving his P1 paralegal’s license. Moncef operates 20scene.com, a blog-style venue to expose his live music editorial zines while also releasing QKP print media works. Moncef has spent over 7 years in mental health recovery and has 4 years abstinence from drugs and alcohol as of September 2020.

CONTENT WARNING

Mature Language, Sexual Content, Suicide

This artist has an item in the RWM swag bag to go with their piece in the exhibition. All ticket holders will be invited to receive RWM swag bags available for free curbside pickup during festival hours.

Images of the Prose in Therapy installation in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang

Mountain Duets is a ceremony illustrated through dance, music and multimedia. We follow an individual that falls into a chaotic haze, losing sight of balance and stillness. This solo mover is a symbol of both our independent and collective consciousness. They are a representation of all we go through on micro and macro scales; a testament to the cycles of the building, tearing down and rebuilding of humanity. From the dark place, the soloist calls upon the ancestors and wisdom of Turtle Island to journey together through traditional teachings, reminding us of our deeply rooted strength, resilience and reciprocity to each other and to Mother Earth.

Winnipeg-born Sophie Dow is an emerging dance and music artist, inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration and her Métis-Assiniboine and settler roots. An avid adventurer, Sophie has a passion for busking, yoga and traveling on top of holding a specialized honours degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from York University. Currently Sophie is part of the Paprika Festival’s Indigenous Arts Program, preparing for adelheid’s re:research and is an Artistic Associate of Chimera Dance Theatre. She writes music, performs and busks regularly throughout Ontario with her band The Honeycomb Flyers and is a practicing licensed Holistic Practitioner of Traditional Thai Massage.

CONTENT WARNING

Fog/Haze, Loud Sound

Images of the Mountain Duets performance in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang

Medication Meditation is a single player game about the daily experience of living with mental illness. This game demonstrates the effort put into maintaining wellbeing and the mundane aspects of mental illness we often overlook. Anatomical, flesh coloured pixel art brings the player into a game-y feel and lets them focus on their somatic experience in this unwinnable game.

Kara Stone is an artist and scholar interested in the affective and gendered experiences of psychosocial disability, debility and healing as it relates to art production, particularly video games. Her artwork has been featured in The Atlantic, Wired and Vice. She is a member of the Different Games Collective. She is currently a PhD student in Film and Digital Media with a designated emphasis in Feminist Studies at University of California at Santa Cruz.

Images of the Medication Meditation installation in Re:Building Resilience:

Photos by Henry Chang

Re:Building Resilience features 25 installations that examine all facets of mental health issues. This will be our last festival at 651 Dufferin Street before moving to a brand new facility at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. What better way to say “good-bye” than to animate all 11,000 square feet with performance art, installations, theatre, dance, film and media art?

Tickets and Viewing Options

Tickets for virtual viewing are pay what you wish. Virtual viewing is available throughout the festival. With your ticket, you will have access to a virtual tour that includes a virtual swag bag with extra features from the 25 projects on offer. All ticket holders will also be invited to receive physical RWM swag bags available for free curbside pickup during festival hours.