The Mental Filmness virtual festival concluded this evening, which signifies the end of our sixth (!) annual festival season. But it’s not all over.
Tomorrow I will post audience awards—I just do this for the virtual festival now. Eventive makes it super easy for the audience to vote and to tabulate results, so I still look at those and divide them into awards based on realism, empathy, and stigma-breakers. I feel like I should be doing *something* with those audience votes and information. I hope everyone realizes though that many factors affect these stats, and really you’re all winners just by being selected, we receive way more submissions than we can host every year and there are always some tough choices to be made.
In exciting news that could not be more timely, Mental Fiilmness just received its first-ever grant! Granted (haha) it is a micro-grant, but as a shoestring budget operation (that often exceeds that budget) this will go a long way. They were very generous, and it is so incredibly meaningful that this was “baby’s first grant” because it is from the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF), a wonderful group organized by Facets Multimedia recently to help connect and recognize Chicago-based film festivals. There are actually more and more mental health-themed film festivals popping up now, and while I think that’s totally awesome, I feel like the way to continue to distinguish ourselves is by being the “Chicago-based” one. That was very apparent this year as we received more submissions than ever from Chicago-based filmmakers and featured them exclusively in our live screenings, and I could feel the Chicago love. I still love running a virtual festival to feature as many films as we can for a wider audience, especially cinematic interpretations on mental health from other cultures.
The CAFF micro-grant is also very generous in that it is targeted toward small film festivals for their operating expenses and does not require an accounting report of the funds like many grants do. In the full transparent disclosure of grants that nonprofits are supposed to give (and we are a nonprofit), I will probably apply the funds from this grant retroactively to this year’s festival for costs like venue rental and the Eventive platform. However, that will help free up funding for the future. And the future….
This has been the best year yet. Mainly because I have learned from so many of my mistakes and have made many more connections. I hope to continue to host more Mental Filmness events year-round to engage the Chicago community. The Chicago Public Library has been a great partner for this and hopefully we can find even more. Although I’ve thought often about giving up on this endeavor, there’s always been helpers convincing me otherwise. I want to connect with more mental health groups who I think could benefit from our message. Feel free to DM me!
“Look for the helpers” is a Mr. Rogers quote I often think of. They’ve always been there, no matter how much I have doubted this passion project. People warned me it would be hard, but after years of doing Chicago Public Library programs I have grown accustomed to meticulously planning something for months and then waiting anxiously in an empty room for someone to show up. A lot of the festival has been waiting in empty rooms for people to show up. But eventually, at least a couple always did. Sometimes the audience was small, but it was never disappointing. The people who were there found us, and really wanted to be there. All of the filmmakers seemed to feel recognized and happy with the engaged talkback.
It’s always been difficult for me to promote Mental Filmness aggressively, because I am shy and lack self-confidence. The only thing that has helped me has been to think it is bigger than myself, and I am merely a conduit and curator through which great art flows. It has especially helped me getting more people involved, including an incredibly dedicated jury who brought diverse perspectives and even brought those perspectives to the interviews this year. These things help me think that Mental Filmness is truly a “we” rather than a “me” thing, and I know that it’s bigger than me, and I’d be disappointing more people than myself if I gave it up.
I initially started this festival, not knowing that a mental health festival was an already-established thing, because after struggling with my own bipolar disorder, and being a huge cinephile, it was healing for me to see people portray mental health in a sensitive and empathetic way on screen, and I wanted to see more of that. Boy, have I ever. We’ve constantly championed that sort of raw vulnerability over any kind of technical skill, including showcasing so many student shorts, first-time filmmakers, and films shot on Iphones, that portray mental illness realistically.
Thanks to all of you supporting this journey, no matter at what stage. Obviously, this festival would not continue to exist without some sort of audience and support. We surely appreciate you, and watch out here for future developments.
XOXO
~~Sharon Gissy
Curator and Organizer, Mental Filmness Film Festival
