7^th EDITION OF THE AU CONTRAIRE FILM FESTIVAL

October 22, 23 and 24, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Dispelling Myths. Erasing Stigma

A Philanthropic Festival benefitting Montreal’s Mental Health Community

Montreal, Sunday September 15, 2019 – For a 7^th consecutive year, the Au Contraire Film Festival, devoted to themes of mental health, returns with a richer selection than ever. The international program invites high-schools, human resource and health professionals, the mental health community and the general public. Sessions will include multiple interactive panel discussions. A total of nine Canadian premieres, four North American premieres and a special presentation will be featured. The organization is proud to have recording artist Florence K as spokesperson for the event.

Working within the mental health continuum, the Au Contraire Film Festival shares the event with various community organizations to use as their fundraiser.” Erasing the stigma associated with mental illness requires understanding and education. The Au Contraire Film Festival strives, through cinema, to challenge myths and stereotypes, helping to raise public awareness and promote social change.” Says Philip Silverberg, founder of the festival.

This year, exceptional screenings will benefit, among others, Donald Berman UP House, RACOR, the Schizophrenia Association of Quebec and Chabad Lifeline.

Programming

This 7th edition of the ACFF will feature films from Germany, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, France, the Netherlands and Russia. A screening is specifically focuses on HR professionals who are charged with dealing with both short and long term disability benefits. Mental illness represents about 30% of all claims received by an employer.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 3 pm, Under the theme Human Resources, four Canadian premieres at our Human Resource screening will spark discussions about the challenges facing companies in addressing the mental health issues of their employees. Hi, I'm Dan by American director Rosa Rodriguez recounts a special moment of an office worker falling apart as he prepares for an interview. The French film Flexible, directed by Matthieu Salmon, tells the story of Laure who takes short-term contracts, each time hoping to turn it into a long-term employment. From the United States, The Dog’s Story by director Jill D'Agnenica is an absurd short animation that tells the tragicomic experience of an old dog who is considering his dark future after being fired. Finally, from Russia, The Narrator, by director Julia Trofimova leads us into an experimental therapy where a depressed employee navigates his workplace with a personal narrator. Led by, there will be an interactive workshop on eliminating stigma in the workplace will be given by Jason Finucan of StigmaZero.com.

At 7:00 pm The beneficiary of ACFF Opening Night proceeds will be going to Donald Berman UP House, a community center serving adults with chronic persistent mental illness. A Canadian made animation and 2019 Oscar nominee, Animal Behaviour by directors David Fine, Alison Snowden will kick off the evening. It is an absurd metaphor for the differences we each share as human beings and the associated stereotypes. It will be followed by Quebecker Mathieu Arsenault's film "Head First”, which tells the story of a guy who cashed his RRSP and left his pregnant wife in search of his Californian muse.  Dr. Karl Looper, Chief of Psychiatry at the Jewish General Hospital, will lead a post-screening panel discussion with the director and the film's subjects.

On Wednesday, October 23 at 7 pm, for the benefit of the Schizophrenia Association of Quebec, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of people with schizophrenia and related psychoses, the "Soiree-Lumière" will have two highlights. First, the festival will pay homage to a Quebec personality who has outstandingly contributed to a better understanding of the universes related to mental illness. The guest of honor for the 2019 edition will be Dr. André Delorme, psychiatrist and former National Director of Mental Health and Forensic Services (MSSS). Then, a special Quebec presentation of the film

Our Lucky Hours (France, Switzerland, Belgium), director by Martine Deyres. This documentary tells of the years 1939 and 1945, when more than 40 000 patients died of hunger in French psychiatric hospitals. Only one place escaped this disaster, the asylum in a village isolated from the center of France: Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole. Why? The evening will culminate with a panel discussion with Dr Delorme and Martine Deyres.

Thursday, October 24 at 3 pm, the ACFF collaborates with RACOR (Alternative and Community Network of Organizations); an association representing nearly a hundred community and alternative organizations involved in the mental health of Montrealers, whose goal is to raise awareness and promote a better understanding of mental health among government bodies and the general public.

The screening will begin the French film The Thwarted, directed by Stéphanie Vasseur and Sandrine Terragno. This is narrative animation of nine characters who cannot express themselves as openly as they would like because of their personal barriers. The Best Way, a French film directed by Ingrid Heiderscheidt follows with the fiction of Sabine searching for a famous "suicide instruction manual" to find the ideal way to end life once and for all ... painless!  From Australia, All These Creatures, winner of the Palme d'Or for short film at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and directed by Charles Williams, tells the story of a teenager trying to unravel his memories of a mysterious infestation affecting his father. From Sweden, A Cup of Anxietea by director Emma Hjelm, is an animated narrative documentary short film interviewing six different women talking about nervousness. Finally, French director Elina Chared's film Hearing Voices brings to light a woman named Marianne, touched by voices, who describes her peer-to-peer recovery work. To close this evening, Elina Chared will lead a panel discussion.

At 7:00 pm, Chabad Lifeline, a Montreal organization dedicated to individuals and families affected by addiction, will be the ACFF’s Closing Night beneficiary. The evening starts with Being Here, a film directed by Sydney O'Haire is about Charlie fighting her internal demons and finding her family in a place she least expects: re-hab. Closing the ACFF, Lamar Odum and Eli Nash will present the audience, (in English) personal testimonies of their sex addictions.

Of note is the ACFF annual free Youth Awareness Matinée for senior high school students. The topic in 2019 is Eating Disorders + Body Image. The screening of these short films will be followed by Lauren Bagwell’s spokenword lived experience. (This program is in English)

The Au Contraire Film Festival

Place : Cinéma du Musée at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts , 1379-A Sherbrooke Street West

Tickets Information : 514 798 0791 / info@acff.ca

Progam and Box Office: https://www.acff.ca

The ACFF is particularly grateful to the following lead sponsors:

Lundbeck, Bell Let’s Talk and The Rossy Family Foundation

Paradis Urbain

The Au Contraire Film Festival is an initiative of Paradis Urbain, a Canadian registered charity whose greater mission is assisting individuals, who, due to their mental illness, are having difficulty moving forward and recovering their lives. Recognizing the power of creative expression as a catalyst that inspires Montreal citizens to take action, Paradis Urbain, through the ACFF, strives to dispel stereotypes and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Through their ¨Sharing the Museum¨ initiative, the MMFA is proud to be a presenting partner of the Au Contraire Film Festival. The ACFF complements the museum’s long-running tradition of offering a cultural experience to Montrealer’s with special needs. Erasing the stigma of mental illness and developing new programs that can integrate visual art within a recovery model is an integral part of the Museum’s mission.

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Source : The Au Contraire Film Festival 

                514 798 0791

Media Relations : Alain Labonté Communications

                                  514 815 2128

SOME TRAILERS

Animal Behaviour /Zoothérapie              (14:00)   Canada -2018   English-French s-t

Directors: David Fine, Alison Snowden

Synopsis: An absurdist metaphor for the differences we each have as human beings and associated stereotypes. A 2019 Oscar nominee for Best Animated Short.

                 Une métaphore absurde des différences que nous avons chacun.e en tant qu'êtres humains et des stéréotypes associés. Un candidat aux Oscars 2019 du meilleur court métrage d'animation.

Trailer: https://www.onf.ca/film/zootherapie-fr/

Head First / Tenir tête  (47 :00)      Québec – 2019  French-English s-t

Réalisateur: Mathieu Arsenault

Synopsis: Quebecker Mathieu Arsenault, lifts the veil on the taboos of mental illness. He cashed his RRSP and left his pregnant wife to search for his Californian muse.  His colorful story, and those of Fréderique and Louis, all diagnosed as bi-polar,

                  truthfully reveal the adventures and the survival of psychosis.

                  Le québécois Mathieu Arsenault lève le voile sur les tabous de la maladie mentale. Il a encaissé son REER et a laissé sa femme enceinte à la recherche de sa muse californienne.

Trailer:

Les Heures Heureuses / Our Lucky Hours    (77 :00)         France, Suisse, Belgique – 2019   Fr/Eng s-t

Réalisatrice: Martine Deyres                                                     Special Presentation

Synopsis: 45,000 patients died in French psychiatric hospitals between 1939 and 1945. A single site escaped this carnage: the asylum in Saint-Alban, an isolated village in Lozère. What happened there for it to be an exception?

                  Entre 1939 et 1945, plus de 40 000 internés sont morts de faim dans les hôpitaux psychiatriques français. Un seul lieu échappe à cette hécatombe, l'asile d'un village isolé du centre de la France : Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole. Que s'est-il

                  Passé ? Qu’est-ce qui a fait exception ?

Trailer: