Please join us for the inaugural Mental Filmness, Chicago's first film festival specializing in mental health. There will be several unique films screening that highlight different facets of this important topic.
Note: This is a free, unticketed event. Space is first-come, first-serve, with spaces likely opening up throughout the day.
Final Program Confirmed!!!!:
Saturday, October 12, 2019 4:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M.
Saturday 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
First Shorts Block (4:00 p.m.-5:20 p.m.)
Call Connect (16:36) (Dir. Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen, Australia)
“A young helpline operator takes her first call.”
My Room 37 (14:24) (Dir. Beatrice Wong, Hong Kong)
“Will I stay or will I leave this room that felt the best? A brief first hand account of my darker days in depression, journeying through my tangled thoughts to the exit.”
Party Of Two (14:04) (Dir. Maria Alvarez, United States)
“Over the course of one night, Maxine encounters a carefree woman who helps her discover a reason to live.”
Jacob (9:15) (Dir. Bobby Chase, United States)
“After finding his older brother's lifeless body, the suicide prompts cathartic changes in a young man. A true story about discovering the importance of humor amongst life's darkest moments.”
Brushes With Life: Art, Artists & Mental Illness (27:00) (Dir. Philip Brubaker, United States)
“Eight artists living with various mental health diagnoses talk about their experiences and the gallery that brings them all together.”
Break/Q&A with Philip Brubaker- till 5:50 p.m.
2nd Shorts Block (5:50 p.m.-7:00 p.m.)
Doctors Don’t Cry (12:47) (Dir. Nathan Xia, United States)
“A Chinese mother and her depressed son struggle to repair their relationship strained by the pressures of social media and academics.”
Gray Umbrella (8:32) (Dir. Mohammad Poustindouz, Islamic Republic of Iran)
“Mr. Maleki has a permanent habit, until a man with an umbrella enters his life.”
Jeff Vs. The Mailbox (15:47) (Dir. Dru
Wortham, United States)
“An agoraphobic recluse is forced to traverse through the unknown to retrieve that which matters most to him. . . his mail.”
Antelope (15:52) (Dir. Ben Grace, United Kingdom)
“After being released from hospital, a conflicted twenty-something struggles to reconnect with her family following a failed suicide attempt.”
Bullets (10:56) (Dir. Travis Neal, United States)
“A story of suicide and pizza.”
Stepping Out (6:50) (Dir. Joel Smith, Australia)
“A young woman struggles to overcome her OCD in order to go on a date.”
Dinner Break - 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Feature At 8:00 p.m.: State Of Mind (133 min.) (dir. Hopewell Rugoho Chin’ono)
“State of Mind is a documentary film looking at mental illness in Zimbabwe.”