Presented by el Mocambo, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala took place tonight at Massey Hall, honouring the best in Canadian Music and on an international stage. Hosted by Marie-Mai, among those honoured tonight in are legends like Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, David Foster and Daniel Lavoie. The event concluded the inaugural Song & Score Week presented by RBC Emerging Artists which included a Songwriting Masterclass with Foster, in addition to a Songwriters’ Circle with the likes of Fefe Dobson, Tyler Shaw, Tim Hicks, TOBi and Ruby Waters. 

In addition to tonight’s Honourees, the list of talent performing in tributes and presenting, was an A-List including Corey Hart, Alessia Cara, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake, Deborah Cox, Jessie Reyez, Charlotte Cardin, Serena Ryder, plus a special appearance by Olivia Rodrigo. So honoured to be there for this monumental moment in Canadian Music History.

A Highlight Reel of the evening’s most memorable moments:

See some Snaps from the evening:

Visit the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame website for more here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

DON’T WORRY DARLING overcomes controversy to take top spot at the Box Office in its opening weekend with $19.2 million from 4,113 theatres for Warner Bros. Despite a score of 36% from Critics on the Tomatometer, Moviegoers could not resisit the allure of Harry Styles and Florence Pugh.

In second is last week’s topper, THE WOMAN KING with $11.6 million for Sony Pictures from 3,765 theatres, a total $36.2 million over two weeks in North America.

The re-release of AVATAR is third and takes $10 million for 20th Century Studios, playing at 1,800 theatres. It’s total theatrical run comes to $770.5 million.

Fourth is BARBARIAN with $4.8 million from 2,340 theatres for 20th Century Studios, a three week gross of $28.4 million.

PEARL rounds-out our Top Five with $1.9 million for A24/VVS Films, a two week total of $6.6 million.

A first look has been offered for QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY. This story centers on the rise of one of Bridgerton‘s most beloved characters.

Synopsis:

Centered on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton-verse prequel tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.

Cast: Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Agatha Danbury) and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton) reprise their roles from Bridgerton in this series. India Amarteifio (Line of Duty) plays Young Queen Charlotte. Michelle Fairley (Gangs of London) plays Princess Augusta. Corey Mylchreest (The Sandman) plays Young King George. Arsema Thomas (television debut) plays Young Agatha Danbury. Rounding out the cast are Sam Clemmett (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – West End and Broadway, The War Below) as Young Brimsley, Freddie Dennis (The Nevers ) as Reynolds , Richard Cunningham (The Witcher) as Lord Bute, Tunji Kasim (Nancy Drew) as Adolphus, Rob Maloney (Casualty) as the Royal Doctor, Cyril Nri (Cucumber) as Lord Danbury, and Hugh Sachs (Bridgerton Seasons 1 & 2) as Brimsley (older).

• Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event is an exciting day of exclusive news, never-before-seen footage, trailers, and first looks, as well as interviews with Netflix’s biggest stars and creators. The free virtual event is a celebration of Netflix fandom and is dedicated to sharing the scoop on over 100 fan-favorite shows, films, and specials from across the globe. On September 24, Tudum will span four continents with five events, taking fans on a whirlwind trip around the world:
• At 11:00 am KST (7:00 pm PT September 23), Tudum kicks off with an exciting show out of Korea.
• At 11:00 am IST (10:30 pm PT, September 23), fans will be treated to a fun look at what’s ahead from India.
• At 10 am PT, Tudum kicks off as a two-part show with Part 1 out of the United States and Europe, and Part 2 at 11:30 am PT out of Latin America, including surprises from other countries.
• At 1:00 pm JST September 25 (9:00 pm PT September 24), our stars from Japan will close out Tudum with a celebration of our Japanese entertainment.
  

Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event will be available across Netflix YouTube channels in a number of different languages. Visit Netflix’s official fan site, Tudum.com/event, for the latest news from this global fan event, and stay tuned for details about our title and celebrity lineup in early September.

TIFF Bell Lightbox was buzzing with energy all Festival long this year and if you noticed, there was a door marked “BVLGARI Portrait Studio” on the Widmer Street entrance? Ever wondered what these photos actually turned out like? Well here you go! Such gorgeous portraits and you won’t believe the names that went through the studio for this official TIFF partner.

See more of Carlyle Routh’s portraits at The Hollywood Reporter here.

(Photo credit: Carlyle Routh)

Paramount+ Canada today announced that the contemporary sci-fi horror series FROM (shot here in Canada!) will be premiering on the streamer on September 27, 2022. The series features a stellar ensemble cast led by Harold Perrineau (Lost).

Filmed in 2021 in picturesque Nova Scotia, FROM unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.

In addition to Perrineau, the cast includes Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace, The Affair), Eion Bailey (Band of Brothers, Once Upon a Time), Canadians Shaun Majumder, Ricky He (The Good Doctor), Hannah Cheramy, Simon Webster, Avery Konrad, Chloe Van Landschoot, David Alpay (Castle Rock), Elizabeth Saunders (Clarice), Elizabeth Moy, Corteon Moore (Utopia Falls), and Pegah Ghafoori.

“We are thrilled that FROM — filmed in beautiful Nova Scotia with a ridiculously talented Canadian crew — will finally be available for a Canadian audience,” said executive producer Jeff Pinkner. “Our series is populated by a variety of complex characters from various backgrounds, all trapped in a terrifying circumstance — good luck to our Canadian friends who try to untangle the mystery.”

FROM was created by John Griffin and is executive produced by Jack Bender, who also directed the first four episodes, Griffin and Jeff Pinkner, as well as Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec and Scott Rosenberg from Midnight Radio, Anthony and Joe Russo and Mike Larocca for AGBO and Lindsay Dunn. Midnight Radio’s Adrienne Erickson serves as co-executive producer. FROM is a co-production between EPIX Studios and MGM International Television Productions and is produced by Midnight Radio and AGBO. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution and previously premiered in the US on EPIX.

FROM streams on Paramount+ Canada September 27, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount+)

M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN is back with some thrills in KNOCK AT THE CABIN, coming early next year to theatres. See this new Trailer.

Synopsis:

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).

Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.

Universal Pictures Canada release #KnockAtTheCabin is in theatres February 3, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

HGTV Canada welcomes global icon Pamela Anderson to the network with the highly anticipated debut of Pamela’s Garden of Eden (8×60), premiering on Thursday, November 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The Corus Studios Original series follows Pamela as she takes a break from her Hollywood life and embarks on a massive restoration of her grandmother’s legacy property on Vancouver Island. A project this scale tests Pamela’s patience and her personal life as she tries to remain focused on her dream for the property: to embrace her family’s past and fulfill her vision for the future.

Pamela’s passion for design and gift for renovating spaces has inspired her to redevelop the expansive six-acre waterfront property she purchased from her grandmother 25 years ago. The property encompasses three main areas: The Roadhouse, The Boathouse and The Cabin; and Pamela has major plans for each. Pamela has an ambitious timeline and hopes to finish the “crown jewel” of the property, The Boathouse on the shoreline, before the Christmas holidays and make it into an architectural masterpiece. Pamela enlists a team of contractors, an architect, a designer, and input from her parents and son to execute her romantic and glamorous vision. Over the course of the season, they work alongside Pamela through the stresses, struggles, budget and time constraints of this extraordinary renovation.

In the premiere episode, “I Love Laundry!”, Pamela and her dream team start with a small but essential project, transforming the unfinished Roadhouse basement into a charming laundry area, pantry and mudroom. As they prepare for demolition, Pamela takes a trip down memory lane, going through archival designer clothes and shoes from her Hollywood life that have been stored in her basement for years.

Pamela’s Garden of Eden is produced by Fireworks Media Group with Marni Goldman as Executive in Charge of Production for HGTV Canada. Pamela Anderson is represented by APA. The Corus Studios Original content team driving the slate of Lifestyle series is helmed by industry executives Colin Bohm, Executive Vice President of Content and Corporate Strategy, Lisa Godfrey as Senior Vice President of Original Content and Corus Studios, and Krista Look, Vice President of Lifestyle.

Disney+ today announced that UK Original series, “Save Our Squad with David Beckham,” will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, November 9th. The announcement was accompanied by a first look teaser trailer and image from the series.

Co-produced by BAFTA and RTS Award-winning production company Twenty Twenty, and Studio 99, the global content and production studio co-founded by Beckham, “Save Our Squad with David Beckham” is a heart-warming series that sees David Beckham return to his East London roots to mentor Westward Boys, a young, grassroots team who are at the bottom of their league, facing relegation. However, this isn’t just any league… this is the same league that David played in as a young boy. Working with the head coaches, he’ll try to turn the team’s fortunes around.

In the exclusive teaser trailer, David Beckham goes back to his roots in East London with an ambition to help Westward win. The sneak peek shows him mentoring the young squad and giving advice and encouragement on the perfect free kick, so the team themselves can ‘bend it like Beckham’.

“Save Our Squad with David Beckham” builds on the company’s commitment to source, develop and produce original productions. Across EMEA alone, Disney’s International Content and Operations team plan to create 60 local productions by 2024 as it continues to work with outstanding creators and premium producers.

All four episodes of SAVE OUR SQUAD WITH DAVID BECKHAM arrive November 9, 2022 on Disney+.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

Devour! The Food Film Fest is back for another year of film and food fusion. The 12^th instalment, celebrating this year’s theme, The Future of Food, an introspective of new food choices that continues to emerge throughout the world.

The festival will span 53 events over 7 days running from October 24^th to 30^th, 2022.

“We are extremely excited about the programming at this year’s Devour!,” said Chef Michael Howell, Executive Director of Devour! “This year marks the return of fan favourites, from the elevated chef dinners to the large-scale and expanded outdoor events, while also looking at some of the less talked about challenges in the food industry.”

Devour! is thrilled to announce the headlining film, Sorry We’re Closed, directed by Pete Ferrerio. Chef Elizabeth Falkner sets out to check in with her renowned chef and restaurateur colleagues during the pandemic.

Chef Faulkner and director Pete Ferrerio will both participate in the Gala and post-screening interview hosted by festival favourite and award-winning Food Network celebrity, Bob Blumer.

Devour! 2022’s theme will serve up some of the hard-hitting facets of The Future of Food, such as plant-based cuisine, sustainable fishing and farming and more.

“We’re not shy about tackling some hard-hitting topics to raise awareness about important food issues,” said Lia Rinaldo, Managing Director of Devour! “This year’s program is a wonderful balance of films about the future of food to entertaining food focused films that Devour! attendees know and love.”

This year’s film highlights include:

• The Canadian premiere of Academy Award-winning Nova Scotia filmmaker Ben Proudfoot’s new short film, The Best Chef in the World.
• Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter – Before the Food Network and social media, Chef Charlie Trotter revolutionized global cuisine. He was a rockstar among the first generation of celebrity chefs, but his meteoric rise came at a price.
• Batata – Shot over an unparalleled decade, Lebanese-Syrian director Noura Kevorkian follows the plight of Maria and her community of Syrian migrant workers who, after toiling for decades in Lebanon’s fertile Bekaa Valley, find themselves unable to return to their hometown of Raqqa, Syria.
• The Art of Eating: The Canadian premiere of this film chronicles the remarkable life of MFK Fisher – a vibrant, sensual writer, and explores the impact of her ideas on food and its meaning in our lives.
• Down with the King – A famous rapper, disillusioned with the music industry and the pressures of being a celebrity, leaves the city and his career behind to find himself in a small-town farming community. 
• The Seeds of Vandana Shiva – How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan Forest conservator become Monsanto’s worst nightmare? The Seeds of Vandana Shiva tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, how she stood up to the corporate goliaths of industrial agriculture, rose to prominence in the seed saving and organic food movements, and is inspiring an international crusade for change.
• Cow – “This film is an endeavour to consider cows. To move us closer to them. To see both their beauty and the challenge of their lives. Not in a romantic way but in a real way. It is a film about one dairy cow’s reality and acknowledging her great service to us. When I look at Luma, our cow, I see the whole world in her.” – Andrea Arnold

Chefs and Shorts – This signature Devour event brings celebrity chefs together to create delicious five-course dinners inspired by five short films shown directly to diners at Devour Studios. The Devour! Chefs & Short Gala Dinner features Jason Lynch, Doug McNish, Lora Kirk, Lynn Crawford and Stephanie Ogilvie will create a menu inspired by films Arturo Enciso of Gusto Bread, Ceres Community Project, Meal on the Plate, BBQ at Josée and Serge’s, Wild Bumblebees.

The Closing night film is The Kitchen Brigade directed by Louis-Julien Petit. Cathy, a headstrong 40-year-old sous-chef is finally about to fulfill her lifelong dream by opening her own restaurant. But nothing goes as planned. Facing serious financial difficulties, she reluctantly accepts a job in the cafeteria of a shelter for young migrants, run by Lorenzo. While she is frustrated by her new position, Cathy’s skills and passion for cuisine start to change the kids’ lives. And they also have a lot to teach her.

Youth and student programming is also a staple at Devour! and this year is no different, with in-person and live-streamed school programming. This includes the Big Picture Program, impactful films curated specifically for youth, and the Nourish Nova Scotia & CBC Youth Food & Film Challenge where the winning film will be screened on opening night!

Festival favourite in-person celebrity chef dinners return this year with Spotlight Gala Film Love, Charlie inspiring Chefs like longtime fest friend Norman Van Aken, Jason Bangerter, Michel Nischan, Peter Dewar & Mary Sue Milliken.

The boozy Bourbon Lunch returns to Le Caveau with Norman Van Aken, Martin Ruiz Salvador and Jason Lynch.

All visiting chefs will host workshops covering everything from foraging to youth cooking masterclasses to vegan wines, donairs and alternative foods.

Food Highlights also include the Devour! Street Food Rally hosted by Canadian Culinary students and Chef Lauren Marshall of Halifax’s Real Fake Meats who will deliver $5 plant-based bites and on Saturday the Devour! Down Home Lobster Supper presented by Chef Peter Dewar and the NSCC culinary program.

Festival favourite Devour! Chowder Smackdownis alsoreturning this year, where award-winning chefs invite guests to sample a generous helping of each of their chowders to be crowned this year’s Chowder Champion!

The 12th edition of Devour! will also deliver several established community give-back events like The Mayors’ Bike Ride for Devour! and The Great Devour! Community Supper in support of regional food banks.

Devour! 2022 will welcome prominent chefs and guests to conducts popular workshops including: Bourbon and Bites, Foraging, Vegan Cookery with Chef Lauren Marshall and Cooking classes for Youth.

The full program and ticket information will be available online at www.devourfest.com on September 22, 2022. Our advice? Don’t wait!

With the importance of mental health awareness at the forefront of myriad conversations and the world continues to experience the impacts of the pandemic, Workman Arts is today announcing the full line-up for their 30th-anniversary edition of the Rendezvous With Madness Festival – the largest and longest-running arts festival in the world dedicated to the intersection of mental health and artistic expression.

The 2022 festival runs from October 27 – November 6 and presents 13 feature films and two short programs – a total of 30 films from 15 countries – in a hybrid format of virtual and in-person screenings.   In addition to this year’s robust film program, the festival includes its annual visual art exhibit – returning to a festival long in gallery format – KIND RENDERINGS, and also features five live performance pieces. 2022 programming will be offered this year at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the CAMH Auditorium, Workman Arts’ recent home at 651 Dufferin, the Workman Arts Gallery at Artscape Youngplace, and at Comedy Bar. As always, films are complemented by thought-provoking post-screening Q&As and curated panel discussions, extending the uniquely meaningful conversations that define Rendezvous With Madness. 

“The 30th anniversary of Rendezvous With Madness in 2022 is an ideal time to continue to deepen much-needed dialogues around mental health, addictions, recovery and wellness,” comments Scott Miller Berry, Interim Executive Artistic Director, Workman Arts. “If the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t make assumptions about the importance of coming together to share, debate, discuss and learn about mental health as a community.”

Berry continues, “Rendezvous strives to bring audiences and artists together to forge new understandings and perspectives on the most important issues facing humanity – including mental health impacts from social issues such as environmental degradation, racism, gender-based violence, authoritarianism among many others.”

The overarching theme for the festival this year is “More than rebellion,” a statement which embodies the festival’s efforts to normalize informed public discourse around mental health, addiction, recovery, and wellness.  More than rebellion means tearing down a broken system in favour of a generational change.  This makes every artist featured at RWM 2022 a rebel; they’ve looked at the world and deemed it lacking, so they’ve used their art to hold society to a higher ideal. 

In this benchmark anniversary year, Rendezvous With Madness 2022 gets underway on October 27th at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema with the Canadian Premiere of the fearsomely candid documentary, HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND by Marusya Syroechkovskaya which first bowed at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel festival, where it received a special mention.

“We are thrilled to be opening with HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND by Marusya Syroechkovskaya, one of the most powerful cinematic portraits we have ever screened. This many-years-in-the-making scrapbook diary meets TikTok documentary follows the young director’s relationship with Kimi, someone whom she shared time with in Moscow’s music scene and in her words, the “bad trip” of Russia’s 21st century,” says Berry. “The couple’s view of their homeland is laid out early in the film and is deeply provocative, and important for Rendezvous to put into our deep discussion context, especially during this time of war: “Everyone knows Russia is for the depressed.”

Documentaries dominate the film line-up, spotlighting deeply personal stories of perseverance through trauma, mental illness, addiction, disability, and more. Other festival highlights include Reid Davenport’s Sundance Film Festival Documentary Directing Award-winner, I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, an unflinching exploration of the effects of “othering” on the disabled; Flore Vasseur’s BIGGER THAN US (Cannes 2021) follows 18-year-old Indonesian activist Melati Wijsen alongside other young activists fighting for free speech, food security and equal rights worldwide; winner of the IndieLisboa Award for Best Film, LES PRIÈRES DE DELPHINE (Delphine’s Prayers) byRosine Mbakam is a candid story of courage and strength in the face of racism, misogyny and poverty; the Canadian premiere of EAT YOUR CATFISH by Adam Isenberg, Noah Amir Arjomand and Senem Tüzen (IDFA 2022) is a chronicle of living with ALS and a family at its breaking point; and the Toronto Premiere of MI VACIO Y YO (My Emptiness and I) from Spanish filmmaker Adrian Silvestre (International Film Festival Rotterdam) follows a young trans woman from France to Barcelona as she struggles to define a trans identity of her own while facing  social pressure from inside and outside the trans community.

This year’s artist spotlight highlights the work of Liz Roberts, and her powerful first-person documentary MIDWASTE (Hotdocs 2022) tells the story of her relationship with heroin over several decades. Her connection to drug subculture is inextricable from her relationship to the camera; the work opens with her first-ever, becoming more high resolution as Roberts becomes more adept with profound reflection alongside different cameras and techniques. Additionally, the artist spotlight will include a virtual workshop run by Roberts on the process of creating autobiographical films.

The Rendezvous With Madness 2022 film line-up includes two short film programs:  IF YOU ASK ME returns for its sixth year, showcasing emerging young filmmakers with mental health and/or addiction experiences from across the country, and UPON, REFLECTION, an anthology of short films by Workman Arts members contemplating the transformative vastness of storytelling. 

The festival closes this year with a screening of local artist Luke Galati’s debut feature-length documentary WHEN WE REACH OUT: WHO WILL RESPOND?. Born out of a tense interaction he had with police during a bipolar episode, Galati follows his own mental health journey and spotlights the work of the Toronto Community Crisis Service, a pilot service responding to mental health related calls, as an alternative to police service response. 

“We are proud to be closing the festival this year with a Toronto made film submitted to us from our open call this year. WHEN WE REACH OUT: WHO WILL RESPOND? asks a question that has been overlooked for many years and is finally gaining traction after the most recent increase in police brutality: who are the best responders when someone is having a mental health challenge?” offers Berry.“Through interviews with organizers, activists, politicians and friends, the film addresses a community response and overdue alternative to the crisis of police violence toward people with lived mental health experiences which primarily means those who are Indigenous, Black and/or people of colour.”

Rendezvous With Madness 2022 returns to an in-person format for their annual visual arts exhibition, this year entitled KIND RENDERINGS. The exhibit, which brings together six artists from across Canada whose work challenges conventional discourse surrounding mental health and wellness, will be on view at the Workman Arts gallery, Artscape Youngplace from October 27 to November 6. The work in KIND RENDERINGS offers brave and bold windows into the artist’s personal mental health through a myriad of mediums. Inspired by the helplessness of being stuck on a hamster wheel Toronto artists Boozie articulate their mental health through a series of drawings. OCAD graduate Jenny Chen explores the healing of past trauma and depression through her evocative animation Multitude of Fish – Ascension Tale. Jessica Field celebrates the imagination’s power to heal the body through a collection of poetry and A.I. rendered drawings that explore the experience of living with inexplicable illness and pain, love, and loss. Stéphane Alexis’ photo-based project Chains & Crowns is inspired and dedicated to the artist’s mother, depicting the history, politics, science, and psychology behind Black hairstyles. Through Twinkle Banerjee’srelationship with her grandmother, this evocative work explores the partition of India and subsequent generational trauma. The body of work Cinnamon sees artist Wen Tong explore everyday experiences in a suburban setting while creating fantastical interventions.

Rounding out the festival this year is a quartet of live performance works and a comedy showcase.  Kicking off the live performance programming is THE FLIN FLON COWBOY from award-winning film and theatre actor Ken Harrower(Boys In Chairs, SummerWorks 2017 Jon Kaplan Spotlight Award-winner). On stage October 29-November 3 at the CAMH Auditorium, THE FLIN FLON COWBOY is a new musical created and performed by Harrower, that tells his life story beginning in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and culminating in his adventures in Toronto as a Queer, Disabled artist.  At Comedy Bar on October 30, the comedy and public speaking school MalPensado presents a Comedy Showcase of work by recent graduates. On November 2, the festival presents a duet of short pieces, A VOICE THROUGH THE MELT by Anda Zeng and Natalie Wee, and THE SUICIDE KEY from Laura Piccinin.  November 4, Newfoundland songwriter, flutologist, and inspirational speaker Rozalind MacPhail performs in DON’T LET ME FALL TOO FAR, a live music and cinema event that tells a timeless story of self-discovery. 

The Rendezvous With Madness Festival is committed to values of inclusivity and accessibility for all guests, staff, volunteers, and artists. In line with Rendezvous’ commitment to being trauma-informed, each program will offer an Active Listener, either on-site or virtually, to help provide self-care and emotional support. Information for accessing support will be available on the website.

Workman Arts’ new location at CAMH, at the McCain Centre for Complex Care and Recovery at 1025 Queen Street West, Workman Arts is now fully wheelchair accessible.  ASL interpretation will be provided for select programs. To learn more about accessibility initiatives at Rendezvous visit www.workmanarts.com

Tickets for Rendezvous With Madness events will be available for online booking beginning October 7th at 10:00am EST. All tickets are pay-what-you-wish. Please note that this year there are limited walk-up sales due to COVID-19 and advance online ticket

With the importance of mental health awareness at the forefront of myriad conversations and the world continues to experience the impacts of the pandemic, Workman Arts is today announcing the full line-up for their 30th-anniversary edition of the Rendezvous With Madness Festival – the largest and longest-running arts festival in the world dedicated to the intersection of mental health and artistic expression.

The 2022 festival runs from October 27 – November 6 and presents 13 feature films and two short programs – a total of 30 films from 15 countries – in a hybrid format of virtual and in-person screenings.   In addition to this year’s robust film program, the festival includes its annual visual art exhibit – returning to a festival long in gallery format – KIND RENDERINGS, and also features five live performance pieces. 2022 programming will be offered this year at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the CAMH Auditorium, Workman Arts’ recent home at 651 Dufferin, the Workman Arts Gallery at Artscape Youngplace, and at Comedy Bar. As always, films are complemented by thought-provoking post-screening Q&As and curated panel discussions, extending the uniquely meaningful conversations that define Rendezvous With Madness. 

“The 30th anniversary of Rendezvous With Madness in 2022 is an ideal time to continue to deepen much-needed dialogues around mental health, addictions, recovery and wellness,” comments Scott Miller Berry, Interim Executive Artistic Director, Workman Arts. “If the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t make assumptions about the importance of coming together to share, debate, discuss and learn about mental health as a community.”

Berry continues, “Rendezvous strives to bring audiences and artists together to forge new understandings and perspectives on the most important issues facing humanity – including mental health impacts from social issues such as environmental degradation, racism, gender-based violence, authoritarianism among many others.”

The overarching theme for the festival this year is “More than rebellion,” a statement which embodies the festival’s efforts to normalize informed public discourse around mental health, addiction, recovery, and wellness.  More than rebellion means tearing down a broken system in favour of a generational change.  This makes every artist featured at RWM 2022 a rebel; they’ve looked at the world and deemed it lacking, so they’ve used their art to hold society to a higher ideal. 

In this benchmark anniversary year, Rendezvous With Madness 2022 gets underway on October 27th at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema with the Canadian Premiere of the fearsomely candid documentary, HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND by Marusya Syroechkovskaya which first bowed at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel festival, where it received a special mention.

“We are thrilled to be opening with HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND by Marusya Syroechkovskaya, one of the most powerful cinematic portraits we have ever screened. This many-years-in-the-making scrapbook diary meets TikTok documentary follows the young director’s relationship with Kimi, someone whom she shared time with in Moscow’s music scene and in her words, the “bad trip” of Russia’s 21st century,” says Berry. “The couple’s view of their homeland is laid out early in the film and is deeply provocative, and important for Rendezvous to put into our deep discussion context, especially during this time of war: “Everyone knows Russia is for the depressed.”

Documentaries dominate the film line-up, spotlighting deeply personal stories of perseverance through trauma, mental illness, addiction, disability, and more. Other festival highlights include Reid Davenport’s Sundance Film Festival Documentary Directing Award-winner, I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, an unflinching exploration of the effects of “othering” on the disabled; Flore Vasseur’s BIGGER THAN US (Cannes 2021) follows 18-year-old Indonesian activist Melati Wijsen alongside other young activists fighting for free speech, food security and equal rights worldwide; winner of the IndieLisboa Award for Best Film, LES PRIÈRES DE DELPHINE (Delphine’s Prayers) byRosine Mbakam is a candid story of courage and strength in the face of racism, misogyny and poverty; the Canadian premiere of EAT YOUR CATFISH by Adam Isenberg, Noah Amir Arjomand and Senem Tüzen (IDFA 2022) is a chronicle of living with ALS and a family at its breaking point; and the Toronto Premiere of MI VACIO Y YO (My Emptiness and I) from Spanish filmmaker Adrian Silvestre (International Film Festival Rotterdam) follows a young trans woman from France to Barcelona as she struggles to define a trans identity of her own while facing  social pressure from inside and outside the trans community.

This year’s artist spotlight highlights the work of Liz Roberts, and her powerful first-person documentary MIDWASTE (Hotdocs 2022) tells the story of her relationship with heroin over several decades. Her connection to drug subculture is inextricable from her relationship to the camera; the work opens with her first-ever, becoming more high resolution as Roberts becomes more adept with profound reflection alongside different cameras and techniques. Additionally, the artist spotlight will include a virtual workshop run by Roberts on the process of creating autobiographical films.

The Rendezvous With Madness 2022 film line-up includes two short film programs:  IF YOU ASK ME returns for its sixth year, showcasing emerging young filmmakers with mental health and/or addiction experiences from across the country, and UPON, REFLECTION, an anthology of short films by Workman Arts members contemplating the transformative vastness of storytelling. 

The festival closes this year with a screening of local artist Luke Galati’s debut feature-length documentary WHEN WE REACH OUT: WHO WILL RESPOND?. Born out of a tense interaction he had with police during a bipolar episode, Galati follows his own mental health journey and spotlights the work of the Toronto Community Crisis Service, a pilot service responding to mental health related calls, as an alternative to police service response. 

“We are proud to be closing the festival this year with a Toronto made film submitted to us from our open call this year. WHEN WE REACH OUT: WHO WILL RESPOND? asks a question that has been overlooked for many years and is finally gaining traction after the most recent increase in police brutality: who are the best responders when someone is having a mental health challenge?” offers Berry.“Through interviews with organizers, activists, politicians and friends, the film addresses a community response and overdue alternative to the crisis of police violence toward people with lived mental health experiences which primarily means those who are Indigenous, Black and/or people of colour.”

Rendezvous With Madness 2022 returns to an in-person format for their annual visual arts exhibition, this year entitled KIND RENDERINGS. The exhibit, which brings together six artists from across Canada whose work challenges conventional discourse surrounding mental health and wellness, will be on view at the Workman Arts gallery, Artscape Youngplace from October 27 to November 6. The work in KIND RENDERINGS offers brave and bold windows into the artist’s personal mental health through a myriad of mediums. Inspired by the helplessness of being stuck on a hamster wheel Toronto artists Boozie articulate their mental health through a series of drawings. OCAD graduate Jenny Chen explores the healing of past trauma and depression through her evocative animation Multitude of Fish – Ascension Tale. Jessica Field celebrates the imagination’s power to heal the body through a collection of poetry and A.I. rendered drawings that explore the experience of living with inexplicable illness and pain, love, and loss. Stéphane Alexis’ photo-based project Chains & Crowns is inspired and dedicated to the artist’s mother, depicting the history, politics, science, and psychology behind Black hairstyles. Through Twinkle Banerjee’srelationship with her grandmother, this evocative work explores the partition of India and subsequent generational trauma. The body of work Cinnamon sees artist Wen Tong explore everyday experiences in a suburban setting while creating fantastical interventions.

Rounding out the festival this year is a quartet of live performance works and a comedy showcase.  Kicking off the live performance programming is THE FLIN FLON COWBOY from award-winning film and theatre actor Ken Harrower(Boys In Chairs, SummerWorks 2017 Jon Kaplan Spotlight Award-winner). On stage October 29-November 3 at the CAMH Auditorium, THE FLIN FLON COWBOY is a new musical created and performed by Harrower, that tells his life story beginning in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and culminating in his adventures in Toronto as a Queer, Disabled artist.  At Comedy Bar on October 30, the comedy and public speaking school MalPensado presents a Comedy Showcase of work by recent graduates. On November 2, the festival presents a duet of short pieces, A VOICE THROUGH THE MELT by Anda Zeng and Natalie Wee, and THE SUICIDE KEY from Laura Piccinin.  November 4, Newfoundland songwriter, flutologist, and inspirational speaker Rozalind MacPhail performs in DON’T LET ME FALL TOO FAR, a live music and cinema event that tells a timeless story of self-discovery. 

The Rendezvous With Madness Festival is committed to values of inclusivity and accessibility for all guests, staff, volunteers, and artists. In line with Rendezvous’ commitment to being trauma-informed, each program will offer an Active Listener, either on-site or virtually, to help provide self-care and emotional support. Information for accessing support will be available on the website.

Workman Arts’ new location at CAMH, at the McCain Centre for Complex Care and Recovery at 1025 Queen Street West, Workman Arts is now fully wheelchair accessible.  ASL interpretation will be provided for select programs. To learn more about accessibility initiatives at Rendezvous visit www.workmanarts.com

Tickets for Rendezvous With Madness events will be available for online booking beginning October 7th at 10:00am EST. All tickets are pay-what-you-wish. Please note that this year there are limited walk-up sales due to COVID-19 and advance online ticket booking is recommended.

Media contact:
Suzanne Cheriton, RedEye Media, suzanne@redeyemedia.ca, 416-805-6744

is recommended.

Media contact:
Suzanne Cheriton, RedEye Media, suzanne@redeyemedia.ca, 416-805-6744