Mental Health Warrior Film Festival

The inaugural Mental Health Warrior Film Festival presents 24 short films and one feature-length movie (Fang, a horror film by writer-director Richard Burgin) which examine various mental health topics. The event was created by Madison filmmaker Max Blaska, co-writer of fest entry The Last Rung on the Ladder (adapted from a Stephen King short story as part of King’s recently ended “Dollar Baby” program). Films will screen in four blocks, starting at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m., and one ticket covers the entire program; ticket sales benefit Camp Creatability and Rogers Behavioral Health Foundation. Find the film schedule below and tickets at mentalhealthwarriorfilmfest.com.

media release: A home theater of the Wisconsin Film Festival will host a new kind of silver screen showcase as the Mental Health Warrior Film Festival kicks off its inaugural event at Flix Brewhouse Madison on Saturday, May 18.

The Mental Health Warrior Film Festival celebrates films that break down barriers and stigmas regarding mental health. Audiences will experience a variety of short film and feature film genres along with guest speakers, all aimed at bridging an understanding of the struggles of mental illness and offering resources for help. The festival’s founder, Max Blaska, hopes that artistic outlets can be a path for healing and growth.

“A Mental Health Warrior is a creative who has been touched by mental illness,” said Blaska, “but they do not let it get them down. They use their creativity and filmmaking to crush those barriers.”

Blaska did just that in 2022-2023 when he received permission rights from author Stephen King to co-write an on screen adaptation of King’s 1978 short story "The Last Rung on the Ladder." While Blaska struggles with anxiety and depression himself, he successfully completed the Dollar Baby film in late 2023, and believes the process was instrumental in his journey. The short film is scheduled to play in the festival also.

The festival is sponsored by Elite Cognition, Revival Infusion Madison, Superbetter and Fisher Family Dental of DeForest. All proceeds from the event will go to Camp Creatability and Rogers Behavioral Health Foundation, both are non-profits in the autism and mental illness communities.

For more information, please visit www.mentalhealthwarriorfilmfest.com.

The schedule of films

12:30 pm greet sitting and ordering food

1:00 pm – 2:24 PM

Artist/autist (3 minutes)

Graduation Day (22 minutes)

Camp Creatability films

1. Cruelty Cooked (5 minutes)

2. The Autistic Realm (6 minutes)

3 Canary (5 minutes )

Color Of Silence (30 minutes)

Scroll Food (14 minutes)

Q&A. And Intermission 2:24-3:00

Block 2 3:00 pm - 4:23pm

Through the Modern Looking Glass (25 minutes)

Rose Of Sharon (33 minutes)

Last Rung On The Ladder (25 minutes)

Q&A and intermission 4:23-5:00

Block 3 5:00 pm - 6:22

Voices with Impact block (27 Minutes)

Fortune Cookie (4 minutes)

Still We Thrive (6 minutes)

Are you Hungry (6 minutes)

Esther and Sai (6 minutes)

Out Beyond (5 minutes)

Super Human Anxiety (8 minutes)

The Feast (11 minutes)

Saudade (12 minutes)

In Your Head (11 minutes)

Mimi Goes To Rehab (15 minutes)

Q&A and Intermission 6:22-7:00

Block 4 7:00 pm - 8:43 pm

Pain (3 minutes)

The Other Me (4 minutes)

Onychophagia (3 minutes)

Fang (96 minutes)