The six-day festival showcases over 20 programs of feature and short films, Snoozeland - a multi-media installation, and a closing day symposium with a spotlight on mental health and substance use in sports. This is one of the most important and interesting film festivals in the city, given the range of topics covered, and the global expanse from which the films come. It's an opportunity to gain insight into the world of "madness", that many perceive as being somewhat of an outsider...but is that such a bad thing?
The Opening Night and
Gala presentation is "Rocks in my Pockets" on Monday November 10th. Latvian-born artist and filmmaker Signe Baumane tells five fantastical tales based on the courageous women in her family and their battles with madness. With boundless imagination and a twisted sense of humor, she has created daring stories of art, romance, marriage, nature, business, and Eastern European upheaval—all in the fight for her own sanity. Employing a unique, beautifully textured combination of papier-mâchéstop-motion and classic hand-drawn animation (with inspiration from Jan Svankmajer and Bill Plympton), Baumane has produced a poignant and often hilarious tale of mystery, mental health, redemption and survival. Writer/Director/Animator Signe Baumane in attendance.
The sports themed spotlight kicks off on Friday, November 14 with the Canadian Premiere of No No: A Dockumentary, about former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Dock Ellis. Producer, Mike Blizzard will be joined in a post-screening discussion by a panel including former executive-director of the Major League Baseball Players Association and current executive-director of the National Hockey League Players Association, Donald Fehr.
On Saturday, November 15, the Mental Health, Substance Use and Sports Symposium begins with an intimate discussion with former NHL goalie, Clint Malarchuk that will be recorded as an episode of popular podcast, "The Mental Illness Happy Hour" with Paul Gilmartin. A book signing for Malarchuk’s new autobiography, "The Crazy Game" will take place after the conversation. This is followed by the Canadian Premiere of Tapia, an incredibly moving documentary portrait of former boxing champion, Johnny Tapia, featuring the final interview he gave before his passing.
“This year’s RWM film line-up is extremely powerful. Many of the films are unflinchingly honest, bold and provocative. We are seeing more truthful reflections and authentic portrayals of individuals who live with a mental illness and/or addiction every year,” says Lisa Brown, Rendezvous with Madness Founder and Workman Arts Executive Artistic Director. “We’ve got a great line-up of films at Rendezvous this year. The first feature-length animated film about mental illness, world-class documentaries, and some incredible debut features,” says Jeff Wright, Program Manager of RWM.
Click
here for a full list of all screenings. Each film screening is followed by a panel discussion with artists, mental health professionals, and people with lived mental health experience.
Tickets are on now on sale and can be purchased by telephone between 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. at 416-599-TIFF(8433) or toll free at 1-888-599-8433,
online, or in-person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, Toronto from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
