theBUZZ Features

Rendezvous With Madness Festival – films, performances, and art focused on addictions and mental health – Oct 25 to Nov 3, 2024 (Toronto)
The 32nd 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, running from October 25th to November 3rd, 2024, and featuring 10 feature films and 3 short programs.
The festival gets underway on Friday, October 25th at the CAMH Auditorium with an Opening Night screening of the acclaimed documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) from Cree writer and filmmaker Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin. A member of the Attawapiskat First Nation, Koostachin was born in Moose Factory, Ontario, and grew up in Moosonee. Her deeply personal documentary, which first premiered at VIFF in 2023, asks the difficult question, “Who are we without our pain?” as she explores her own family history with the residential school system, stepping in front of the camera and into the circle of truth.
Canadian filmmakers take centre stage this year throughout the festival. On the 26th Rendezvous presents the Toronto premiere of a narrative feature inspired by a personal event, Michael Clowater’s affecting Drive Back Home. Starring celebrated UK actor Alan Cumming, Drive Back Home tells the story of a small-town plumber from rural New Brunswick, who drives his beat-up truck 1000 miles to get his estranged, gay brother out of jail after he is arrested for having sex in a public park.
On October 30th, the Festival offers a special Centrepiece presentation of the Canadian documentary My Dad’s Tapes, a Top 20 Audience Favourite at this year’s Hot Docs Festival. A powerful act of reckoning with the past, in the film director Kurtis Watson looks back to the mysteries surrounding his father’s suicide 14 years prior, employing imagery from a trove of his father’s home videos.
Other festival highlights this year include the experimental documentary A Man Imagined from renowned Canadian filmmakers Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, an intimate and hallucinatory portrait of a man living with schizophrenia on the streets of Montreal that pushes at the limits of non-fiction cinema; the Canadian premiere of the acclaimed Sundance selection Malu from Brazilian director Pedro Freire offers a raw and emotional exploration of motherhood and intergenerational trauma and an astounding performance from lead actress Yara de Novaes; and documentary Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin, is a revealing look at one of the most iconic rock n’ rollers of a generation, and his persistent attempts to overcome deep seated addiction.
In addition to short films screening with many feature films, three short film programs will be offered in 2024. Rendezvous’ IF YOU ASK ME short film line-up returns for its eighth year, showcasing emerging young filmmakers from across the country with mental health and/or addiction experiences. The festival also presents a program of short films from the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival this year as well as a collection of recent short films from Workman Arts artist members, “I don’t need to ask you to love me because I love myself.”
What’s Queer
Drive Back Home by writer/director Michael Clowater is based on something that happened to an uncle of Clowater’s. The film is about a small-town plumber who drives across country to bail his estranged, gay brother out of jail after he arrested for having sex in a public park. This one was just award Audience Choice at Calgary FF. Also, the documentary My Dad’s Tapes which ran at Hot Docs and was a top 20 audience favourite there, is a film made with found family videos contemplating the legacy of a father’s suicide, and includes LGTBQ+ content.
Performances
Complementing festival film and visual art programming this year are three special performance presentations spanning multiple disciplines. On October 31st Toronto’s MalPensando presents the live performance showcase Public Speaking Through Comedy; On November 1st Nicole Decsey Dance Projects will perform We Lost You A Long Time Ago before the screening of Peter Doherty: Stranger in my Own Skin; and on November 2nd, join Rendezvous for a night of music, dancing, and a mini-night market, Rhythm of the Night at the Tranzac Club.
Art
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. New for 2024, the visual art exhibit – The Looms We Resemble– will open at the conclusion of the festival on November 3rd and remain open through to December 9th, extending the festivals reach. Curated by Fatma Hendawy, this group exhibition showcases textile works by six artists exploring topics of belonging, the body, healing and ancestry.
Tickets and Schedule
Tickets for Rendezvous With Madness are available online and by walking up at all festival venues (open 1 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 www.workmanarts.com. All films have open captions. Workman Arts is located at CAMH, at the McCain Centre for Complex Care and Recovery at 1025 Queen Street West and is entirely wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation will be provided for select programs.
Social Media:
Insta: @workmanartsto
X: @workmanartsTO
FB: @workmanarts
YouTube: youtube.com/use/WorkmanArtsProject
About the Author
Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.