The 17th Annual Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival (RWM) is taking over screens November 5th - 14th. The 10-day festival will present over 30 programs of feature and short films and artists’ talks at Workman Theatre, 1001 Queen St. W., and Workman Arts’ new home, 651 Dufferin St. Each program includes a thematic, moderated post-screening panel discussion with filmmakers, people living with the experience of the issue explored, a health care professional and a special interest person.

This year RWM is presenting a special appearance by “Big Daddy” Tazz with “Out of My Mind.” The Canadian comic’s “Bipolar Buddha” routine gained critical-acclaim by cleverly drawing attention to mental illness through humour and his own struggles with bipolar disorder. The comedy night on November 7th at 8 p.m. will be hosted by Toronto-native and Yuk Yuk’s founder Mark Breslin, followed by a discussion with Tazz and Dr. David Goldbloom, senior medical advisor at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The discussion topic will be “Joking about Mental Illness - who can, who can’t, how far can you go?” Tickets are priced at $25 for show only and $30 for the Crazy Comedy package for show plus “Laugh a Little” screening at 6 p.m.

RWM continues to revel in the mysteries of the mind, exploring the facts and mythologies surrounding mental illness and addiction. This year’s festival features several provocative films that focus on family.

The opening night feature presentation is Helma Sanders-Brahms’ Canadian premiere Clara. The most critically acclaimed and highly awarded female voice of New German Cinema presents a tale of passion, betrayal and redemption in her astounding biopic of Clara Schumann. A brilliant musician and composer in her own right, Clara is content to stay in the background and support the delicate genius of her husband Robert Schumann; that is until the younger and equally brilliant Johannes Brahms enters their lives as his protégé.

The closing night feature presentation is Japanese icon Takeshi Kitano’s Achilles and the Tortoise, the concluding chapter of a self-reflective trilogy. The only constant in Machisu’s life has been painting, but he’s inherited his father’s lack of skill and taste. Nonetheless, Machisu continues to sink whatever money he makes into supplies and lessons as a disparaging art dealer constantly suggests he become more whatever the buzzword of the day may be. With the title taken from the Zen paradox, the film questions whether Machisu's artistic career is destined to fail because he lacks talent or because he chases success as defined by others rather than following his own inclinations.

Other films screening at the festival include: Genie-nominated and two-time TIFF award-winning director Léa Pool’s Mommy’s at the Hairdressers (Mama est chez le coiffeur), which displays a perfect 1960s family snapshot, but makes us ponder the little things and how they can slowly add up to dysfunction; The Spine, Chris Landreth’s follow up to his Oscar award-winning animated short Ryan that explores the impacts of dysfunctional relationships using his distinctive psycho-animated style; About Face: The Story of Gwendellin Bradshaw, the story of a woman who survived being thrown into a fire as a baby and now struggles with the ups and downs of coming to terms with her family, her physical disfigurement, her resulting profound isolation and loneliness, and her on-going quest for closure; and Cure for Love, an enlightening look inside the ex-gay movement.

For a full list of films screening at the festival, please visit www.rendezvouswithmadness.com.

Tickets and festival passes are available at the door and in advance online at www.rendezvouswithmadness.com. Tickets for group sales and student programs can be purchased by calling 416.583.4339 x7. Opening Night Gala tickets are priced at $25, general admission for the festival is $10 and a limited number of PWYC tickets are available one hour before each screening. Suggested minimum price is $2.