2014 Film Festival

projectorRethinking Psychiatry
2014 Film Festival

April 2nd through April 30,  7-9 PM

Presented at The First Unitarian Church of Portland 1101 SW 12th  Ave.• Portland, Oregon

Please join us for this opportunity to share, discuss, and celebrate ideas and information concerning Mental Health through an array of films chosen and presented by eight different organizations advocating for and supporting mental wellness in our society.  Download flyer



Wednesday, April 2

“Beyond Soteria: Selected Short Films”

Co-sponsored by the M.O.M.S. Movement and MindFreedom International 

MOMS logo

Several short films offer alternatives to overreliance on psychiatric meds for crisis and long-term support for people who experience alternative mental/emotional realities.  Discussion afterwards will focus on a local vision for a house that would support people who choose to come off long-term use of psychiatric drugs.


Friday, April 11

“Short Term 12”

Co-sponsored by the Oregon Foster Youth Connection

Short_Term_12This story is told through the eyes of Grace, a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers.  Grace’s own difficult past affects her work with Jayden, a gifted but troubled teenage girl new at the facility, and Marcus, an intense, quiet kid who is about to turn 18 and leave the facility. This lovingly realized film finds truth and humor in unexpected places.



Wednesday, April 16

“The Hidden Enemy”

Co-sponsored by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Oregon

the-hidden-enemy-dvd-enIn early 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the startling statistic that the number of military suicides in 2012 had far exceeded the total of those killed in battle—an average of nearly one a day.  A month later came an even more sobering statistic from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: veteran suicide was running at 22 a day—about 8000 a year.

85% of military suicides have not seen combat—and 52% never even deployed.  So what unsuspected factor is causing military suicide rates to soar?  Evidence points to the soaring rates of psychiatric drug prescribing since 2003. Known side effects of these drugs, including increased aggression and suicidal thinking, are reflected in similar uptrends in the rates of military domestic violence, child abuse and sex crimes, as well as self-harm.


Friday, April 25

“Dialogues with Madwomen”

Co-sponsored by the Icarus Project, Light of Madness, and Portland Hearing Voices

MadwomenThis intimate film features seven women, including the filmmaker, describing their experiences with madness and recovery. It is raw and honest about how personal and societal trauma is often underneath. Acknowledging that “madness” is often a way of explaining women’s self-expression, this film charges us to listen to the creativity and courage of survivors. Produced by Academy Award winning filmmakers.


Wednesday, April 30

“Guilty Except for Insanity”

Presented by Dr. Jan Haaken, Filmmaker and Professor of Community & Clinical Psychology at PSU

GuiltyExceptforInsanityJan Haaken goes behind the walls of the Oregon State Hospital, the location of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and recounts the stories of patients in this hospital for the “criminally insane.” Their stories reveal the craziness of an American System where one must commit a crime to receive help. The documentary probes this maddening world and uncovers truths about the human need for care and connection, as well as for freedom.