If you're craving to learn more about mental health, this film festival is right for you! We will be showing different films every night from February 27th to March 2nd that are related to mental health topics. These films depict bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse disorders, and the rehabilitation processes in the mental health field. Come by if you're interested in learning more about mental illnesses. This event is FREE and open to all students and faculty! Popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase!

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mental-health-film-festival-tickets-43365024957

TW: These films deal with serious topics that may be triggering or upsetting to some people. Please be sure to read over the descriptions to make sure you are comfortable with attending the viewings.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH - AA112 - 6-9PM
Racing Thoughts (2010)
This is a film about children who thought they were “crazy.” Who wanted to die. Who felt fear, anger and hopelessness. Four young people living with mental illness and their loved ones make the courageous decision to open up about their stories. Their voices are complemented by that of the director, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as an adult but whose initial symptoms emerged in childhood. This film skirts the specialists’ debates in favour of a more personal tone, moving away from the alarming vocabulary of diagnoses and allowing viewers to discover the children affected.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH - IC328 - 6-9PM
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (2014)
This feature documentary profiles four residents of the Brockville Mental Health Centre, a forensic psychiatric hospital for people who have committed violent crimes. Four patients—two men and two women—struggle to gain control over their lives so they can return to a society that often fears and demonizes them. Shrouded in stigma, institutions like this one are places into which patients disappear from public view for years. 
Four-time Emmy winner John Kastner was granted unprecedented access to the Brockville facility for 18 months, allowing 46 patients and 75 staff to share their experiences with stunning frankness. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 1ST - HW214 - 6-9PM
Crazywater (2013)
After years of struggle and shame, five Indigenous Canadians are bravely telling their stories. Crazywater is an emotional and revealing exploration of substance abuse among Indigenous people in Canada, directed by Inuvialuit filmmaker Dennis Allen. Rarely have their own perspectives on the sensitive topic of alcoholism been presented in such an honest and forthright manner. Dennis introduces Alex, Stephen, Paula and Desirae, who courageously share their experiences. Alex's struggles with alcoholism were an attempt to forget the abuse he suffered at a residential school. Drinking and drug use were Stephen's way of burying the childhood trauma he couldn't bear. For Paula and Desirae-two mothers with a dark history of addiction-family becomes the key to breaking the cycle of abuse. Like his subjects, the director himself is a recovering alcoholic. Dennis describes his decades-long battle with alcoholism, which began when he took his first drink-when he was only a boy. The survivors maintain a deep and devoted commitment to their traditional cultures as a means to achieving long-term sobriety. Through their voices, this insightful documentary offers an inspirational beacon of hope for those whose lives have been affected by addiction.


FRIDAY, MARCH 2ND - TBA
OCD: The War Inside (2001)
This feature documentary explores the daily lives of individuals living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a misunderstood anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts, nagging fears and ritualistic behaviour. From the outside, its sufferers have no physical disabilities and have every appearance of being as functional as the next person. But inside, a daily war is waged for survival.