The Rendezvous with Madness Festival (RWM) returns for its 33rd year. It will open with a screening of the award-winning documentary, #SKODEN, by Canadian director Damien Eagle Bear.
Rendezvous is the largest and longest-running arts festival in the world dedicated to the intersection of mental health and artistic expression. This year’s theme is “Disrupt the Focus,” presenting 11 feature films and two short programs centring on empowerment and liberation.
“For too long, stories have been written about us, without us,” said Workman Arts’ interim Executive Director Ameena Ilahi in a press release. “Disrupt the Focus invites us to challenge the dominant narratives of mental health and addiction. The artists of Rendezvous 2025 are reclaiming their stories, shattering silence and expanding our understanding of what it means to live with madness.”
The festival expands on the meaningful conversations inspired by the film selections with complementary post-screening Q&As and curated panel discussions.
Rendezvous with Madness begins Thursday, October 23 with a screening of #SKODEN at the CAMH Auditorium in Toronto. The film, winner of the Emerging Filmmaker award at Hot Docs earlier this year, tells the story of Pernell Bad Arm, the Blackfoot man behind the infamous 2010 “Skoden” meme. It spread across the internet, emerging as a symbol of Indigenous resilience to some, while underscoring negative stereotypes for others.
Toronto documentarian Alan Zweig comes back to the festival with his newest film, Love, Harold. After losing a close friend to suicide, Zweig tries to process the experience by speaking with others who wrestled with the suicide of a loved one.
This year’s RWM explores loss of personal agency and dignity, as well as resilience of the human spirit. The international programming includes acclaimed films, such as:
- Afghani director Najiba Noori’s FIPRESCI award-winning documentary, Writing Hawa. It follows three generations of women struggling to emancipate themselves from patriarchal traditions;
- U.K. director Grace Hughes-Hallet’s documentary, The Secret of Me, about intersex gender presentation;
- U.S. director Benjamin Flaherty’s SXSW Documentary Award winner, Shuffle. It follows individuals trying to survive in a system of insurance-fueled rehab fraud; and
- Canadian experimental filmmaker Denis Côté’s Paul, chronicling a 300 lb man’s unconventional path towards personal improvement.
The festivals’ short film program, If You Ask Me, returns for its ninth year, alongside Poetic Proclamations, an anthology of short films by Workman Arts members.
Each year, RWM pairs the film lineup with live performances, a music showcase and a night market. This year’s curated visual art exhibit Lingering Echoes “introduces speculation into how different sonic elements might exist together or work in conversation with each other within a contained space,” as the festival notes. RWM ends with a special screening of Hamed Tehrani’s 2019 film, Diapason, in partnership with the Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre.
Tickets for Rendezvous with Madness events are available online now. Or you can walk up to any festival venue up to one hour before show times. All tickets are pay-what-you-wish and can be reserved in advance on the festival website with a credit card.
For complete listings, including short films screening with features, and post-screening panels and Q&As, visit workmanarts.com.
