FilmOct – Nov
Rendezvous with Madness Festival
The film festival that treats mental illness and addiction as subject matter worth real craft, not just awareness-week platitudes.
When
2026: October 22–29, 2026
2027: TBD
2025: October 23 – November 2, 2025
Where
Workman Arts and various Toronto venues
Area
Dufferin Grove
Cost
Free + Paid · Individually priced screenings and events; some public programming is free
Format
indoor
Running Since
1993 (33 years)
Family Friendly
Not typically
VT Insider Tip
The panel discussions and in-conversation events that follow the screenings are often more memorable than the films themselves.
About
Run by Workman Arts, Rendezvous with Madness bills itself as the first and largest arts-and-mental-health festival in North America — a multidisciplinary program of film, visual art, live performance and panel discussions built around lived experience of mental illness and addiction. It's been running since the early '90s and pulls filmmakers and audiences well beyond Toronto.
What to Expect
Small-room screenings with post-film Q&As, a visual art component running alongside the film program, and an audience that skews toward people with direct personal or professional connection to the subject matter.
Pro Tips
Programming is spread across multiple venues, not one central hub, so check the venue for each screening before you plan your day.
Getting There
Workman Arts is at 651 Dufferin St, near Dufferin and Queen St W. Take the 29 Dufferin bus from Dufferin station (Line 2), or streetcar 501 or 504 to Dufferin St and walk north.