Mental Filmness

Description

Mental Filmness had its premiere in Chicago at Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee Avenue, on October 12th and 13th, 2019, the weekend after World Mental Health Day. Comfort Station is an award-winning, historic multidisciplinary art space in the heart of Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood with several followers. Mental Filmness was free of charge, and attracted a dedicated audience who enjoyed the films as well as some visiting filmmakers.

For the last couple of years, due to the spread of COVID-19 restrictions, the festival was conducted virtually via the Eventive platform. Features as well as short film blocks could be unlocked in a video-on-demand format for the timeframe following World Mental Health Day through the end of the month of October. Filmmakers participated in virtual interviews which were linked to from the homepage and awards were decided by virtual ballot tallies.

Now, we are ready for Mental Filmness to start growing! We already have. In 2019, we had about 25 people at most packed inside out modest venue. In 2020, we issued a total of 61 passed through the Eventive platform. In 2021, we issued a total of 200 passes. Our virtual presence reached a wider audience, including the family and friends of our international filmmakers, and we plan to move forward as a hybrid festival.