My Rendezvous with Madness
The Annual Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival, November 5th to 13th, is a 9-day festival with over 20 feature and short films. Each film includes a thematic and moderated post-screening panel discussion with the filmmakers, people living with experience of the issue explored, health care professionals and a special interest person.
Matthew Hodge, Program Manager of the film festival says that “Rendezvous with Madness aims to educate people about mental health and addictions. The selection of films this year varies from documentaries, animations and experimental programming. Having the panel discussions afterwards where the audience can talk to medical experts and people who have experienced mental health issues or addiction makes it a unique experience for the audience.”
I attended the screening of “Park Mark”, a documentary written and directed by Baktash Abin. It’s the a story of a riches-to rags businessman who falls prey to a crack-cocaine addiction after being deported from the U.S. back to Iran following a 32 year absence. The film follows Mark, 54, who lives in poverty on the streets ofTehran, while stealing from charity donation boxes to fuel his addiction.
“Park Mark” had a powerful impact on the audience.. You could feel a collective sadness in the room for the one and only character of the film when the house lights came back on. On a personal note, I hoped that “Park Mark” would one day get the help he needs for his addictions.
Immediately after the screening the panel discussion began. Dr. Atif Seif, who specializes in Adult Psychiatry, and Mohammad Dehganpour, a counselor, psychologist and psychotherapist, where invited to share their views on the film. They offered medical opinion and insight into how drugs can take over the mind of an individual and how they become the new family or the only family that they rely on. In the case of “Park Mark”, he kept referring to crack-cocaine as his one and only love who simultaneously destroys him from within.
Then audience members took turns asking questions about addiction and sharing their own experiences. I’ve never been to a film festival that engages its audience to this capacity. Although the content might be difficult for some, it offers an honest view of what it is like to be in someone’s shoes that is facing mental health or addiction issues.
General admission tickets to the festival are $10 and are available at the door or online at www.rendezvouswithmadness.com.
What I Learned
170. As an actor, I was able to discover strong emotions from the real life events of someone currently facing addiction. What an actor can take out of this film festival is the capacity to see a real man or woman’s struggle through life, while experiencing pain, sadness, triumph and victory all rolled up in one defining moment. Rendezvous with Madness was worth the visit.
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