About the 19th Annual Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival

"The fever dreams of the movies are an ideal medium to chronicle mental illness.” - Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail, 2007

MENTAL ILLNESS AND ADDICTION are fundamental parts of our human experience and they have always been difficult to present and discuss in the public arena. Fear and stigma routinely make accurate representations and presentations next to impossible.

The vehicle through which mental illness and addiction are most often presented publicly is mainstream film. Through these films the public can, in most instances, sit back and watch from a safe distance. Audiences are secure in the belief that they are watching the experiences of others and remain divorced from the realities of society.

Film can also enable new and established artists to visually explore ideas and express stories of mental illness and addiction in ways that are nearly impossible in other artistic media. The technical freedom of film allows for these artists to challenge perceptions of reality and to express the truth of mental illness and addiction.

RWM explores these cinematic representations and hosts panel discussions after each screening. The films are the art, the discussion gives them perspective.

About Workman Arts

Workman Arts (WA) is a not-for-profit multidisciplinary arts organization that supports individuals who receive mental health and addictions services in their artistic pursuits and promotes a greater understanding of mental health and addiction issues through various artistic media.

What began in 1987, as a company of 8 Members with limited theatre training has evolved into a professionally recognized, multi-disciplinary arts organization with over 230 active Members, all with artistic abilities and goals. WA has worked with thousands of artists with mental health and addiction issues who have performed/displayed to hundreds of thousands of people. Many Members have had the opportunity to work/perform with top professional artists in prestigious venues in Canada and abroad. In the various artistic media, WA has produced more than 20 original Canadian plays, 18 Rendezvous with Madness Film Festivals, 11 Annual BEING SCENE Art Exhibitions, four multi-disciplinary festivals and one international festival, the Madness and Arts World Festival. WA has a vibrant youth program, presenting films, theatre productions and artists' talks to elementary and high school students in the Greater Toronto Area. WA has formed partnerships with hundreds of organizations within Toronto, across the country and around the world. The WA community of artists and its programs now represent a world-class model that has been replicated locally, nationally and internationally.