An Inspiring Day of Film and Conversation

11 OCT 2016

An Inspiring Day of Film and Conversation

By Carla Rabinowitz - Advocacy Coordinator

Our 12th annual New York City Mental Health Film Festival was a wonderful event. With 12 films from around the world, as well as appearances by some very special guests, it was a major achievement in our efforts to present mental health issues in a positive light and build a community through film.

In selecting our films, we wanted to be sure to represent a variety of experiences, perspectives, and stories. Selections included documentaries, features, and short educational videos. We showed films from New York City and from as far away as Kenya and Australia. Above all, we wanted to show the successes, lives, hopes, struggles, and the beautiful humanity of people with mental health concerns.

Highlights included:

The East Coast premiere of Boxed In, the directorial debut of actress Tasha Smith (Empire)
The Manhattan premiere of Mind/Game, the story of WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw, directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Rick Goldsmith
Q&A sessions with Tasha, Chamique, Rick, and other filmmakers
The debut of our Young Filmmakers Award – with the very talented 16-year-old Francesca Murdoch as its inaugural recipient

This event could not have happened without the tireless efforts of many CA staff members, our wonderful Host Committee, and our stellar volunteers who do so much to make this event so welcoming and enjoyable.

So, THANK YOU to everyone involved! I can’t wait to see what next year’s festival brings.