The Urban Dreams Mental Health Film Festival is a thought-provoking event that will raise awareness about mental health issues through the power of Cinema.
The festival showcases a diverse range of films from around the world that explore the complex and often taboo topics surrounding mental health. We’re supporting the not-for-profit Languages of Care. LoC connects with first responders on the ground to understand the “just in time” need and work to find and translate royalty free emotional health content to help communities recover after a disaster.
Through engaging and meaningful storytelling, the works presented at the Urban Dreams Mental Health Film Festival aims to educate and inspire audiences to break down the stigma associated with mental health issues. The festival provides a platform for filmmakers and content creators to share their unique perspectives and personal experiences, creating a safe and inclusive space for open dialogue and discussion.
Attendees of the festival can expect to see a wide range of genres, including documentaries, narratives, and animation, that tackle various themes related to mental health such as depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use disorders, and more. The festival also features guest speakers, panel discussions, and workshops, providing a deeper understanding of the issues, a chance for attendees to connect with experts and peers.
The Festival runs September 26-28th at the world famous Regal Essex Crossing with Gala Awards and Languages of Care fundraiser at BKLYN Commons Rooftop
- $20 GENERAL ADMISSION – 1 screening block
- $30 DAY PASS – general admission for 2 screening blocks
- $50 TWO DAY PASS (Includes 2 screening nights, 4 screening blocks, Q&As)
- $75 GALA AWARD CEREMONY (The UDMHFF closing night gala award ceremony includes complimentary hors d’oeuvres, drinks and live musical performance)
- $99 ALL ACCESS PASS (MOST FLEXIBLE – Complimentary admission to all screening blocks, Q&As, and gala awards ceremony with live musical performance and complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks)
Last Day: Gala Awards Party & Languages of Care Fundraiser, Thursday September 28th
Film-maker awards, live Ukrainian professional musicians courtesy of LoC, refreshments, shared passion and connections you can’t make anywhere else. Make sure not to miss the Gala – located at BKLYN Commons, a quick subway stop from Manhattan on Prospect Park.
DAY ONE – BLOCK 1, Tuesday September 26th
- Implosions: In her attempts to do her homework, a bright yet struggling teen finds herself at battle for her life. Lisa Sherman
- In Sight, Out of Mind Unfiltered: A raw, unfiltered glimpse into one social worker’s 28 year struggle with bipolar disorder. Highlighting the far-reaching impacts her illness has had on her loved ones and how she copes with the disease. Tina Willits
- Life After: A priest unable to escape the shame. A pastor haunted by her memories. Neither knows how the trauma of their past will affect their future. Autumn Libengood
- Pop’s flies: What happens when a family relic shows up out of nowhere and turns into a guiding light for a possible answer to that question? Clay Hervey
- Social Depression: A depressed young man goes to the forest to clear his head and meets a blind man who helps him find direction in his life. Patrick Torres
- As The Moth Flies: During their visit to the psychiatrist, Tonette was asked to evaluate her mentally ill partner, Jett, and their relationship through the years. By doing so, she unexpectedly uncovers the truth about their dark eerie past. Gayle Oblea
- The Outside: After her stay at a mental hospital must come to an end, a defiant psyche patient is determined to do everything possible to stay locked up and avoid The Outside. Monet Ravenell
DAY ONE – BLOCK 2
- Speculum: Dive into Viktor’s mind & warped reality as he struggles with derealization & depersonalization. Milena Adrianna Hübscher
- Slice/Silence: Together with The Big Anxiety (TBA), Indigo is planning to create a safe space for survivors and supporters at TBA’s Naarm (Melbourne) Forum. Using cushions as a medium for people to engage with self-injury and healing, it’s her first opportunity to step out on her own to bring together her activism, creativity and passion to connect with other survivors. Steph Vajda
- Panicck!Attack! Shawn’s panic attack sends him through dimensions, and as it worsens, his girlfriend Ellie’s behavior becomes more and more erratic. Andy Wilczak
- Autism – The Life Behind The Word: This short film sits with children and adults with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities and Autism, shining light on crossovers between disability and mental health. Diplodocus Films
- I think Therefore I Boom: A struggling young mother strives to bind her family together despite having an unstable husband, but everything changes when she realizes her four year old is missing and neglected by his absent-minded father. Jorge Luis Moreno
- Dear Ani: In 1995, an aspiring artist and college sophomore, took a semester off to live in a cabin in Northern Maine. He sat by the edge of a lake and asked the universe to send him a “story worth telling”. Two month later, he was admitted to Bellevue Hospital, while searching for Ani DiFranco. Micah B Levin
- Found: Found is a short drama about a loving father that doesn’t always recognise what’s happening around him, but today he’s here to support his daughter and that’s what matters. Confused, he slips out for an unscheduled adventure. Allan Othieno
DAY TWO – BLOCK 1, Wednesday September 27th
- End Of The Line: Taylor is faced with her anxiety in a larger than life way; will she overcome it or reach the end of the line? Mark Jones
- Speak To Me: Two young men, Simon & Josiah, deal with life’s ups, downs, and expectations while maintaining the stereotypical emotional boundaries that plague our communities: “Man up!”, “Be tough”, or “Life ain’t fair”… But what causes their breaking points? Kurt Damas
- SwimTuff: Ben Tuff found recovery from alcohol and mental illness in 2012. He is a record-holding ultramarathon swimmer who has created the movie “Swim Tuff” with Producer, Matt Corliss. Over ten years ago, Ben gave up the bottle and taught himself to swim. “Swim Tuff” captures Ben’s perseverance and joy in sobriety while looking to destigmatize the idea of addiction and help people learn to follow their dreams. Ben Tuff
- Amazing Grace: Based on the true stories of many families, Amazing Grace tells the story of a single mother caring for her adult son with schizophrenia. Aiden Keitner
- Another Way To Love Yourself: This short film reflects on a diverse range of experiences with life-altering dermatology conditions. Survivors touch on racialized, systemic problems in the dermatology field that exaggerated conditions and intensified battles. “Another Way to Love Yourself” both educates and empowers through humanizing representation and personal stories. Diplodocus Films
- The Right Words: A man struggles to find the right words. Esteban Gast
DAY TWO – BLOCK 2
- Can You See The Real Me? This work is based on the interviews with 15 patients with mental illnesses (mental disorders) collected through the Internet in 2020, and the content was organized and redesigned in the form of an animated short film. Through the interviews, we learned that bipolar disorder is a mental illness that is difficult to diagnose and medicate correctly. Ye Jing
- Car Sick: Inspired by true events – A woman living in her car on hospital grounds during the coldest Scottish winter in years ignores the growing concerns of others, but she must come to accept what is holding her there or face the inevitable consequences. Joseph McLean
- Inmate: Within the confines of his prison cell, a father falsely accused delves into the haunting psychological scars left by a rigged system and fractured relationships, forming a connection with a fellow inmate that challenges his perception of reality. Enrique Lebron
- Thank You, Neck: Thank You, Neck’ is a coming of age drama that follows the journey of a young designer Sophie after she receives a cancer diagnosis. Marion Forbes
- Junkin’: Mike Heck seeks redemption after suffering most of his life with alcoholism, depression, and hoarding disorder. Andy Heck
- Night Voices: A jaded talk radio host in a cycle of hopeless and demoralizing monotony makes a life-altering decision while on-air. Bradley Hawkins
CO-FOUNDERS
Please contact us at udmhff@gmail.com for sponsorship opportunities with “Sponsorship Opportunity” in the subject line.
GRANT H. BRENNER, MD, DFAPA
Dr. Grant Brenner grew up in a culture and family immersed in self-exploration, psychoanalysis, psychology, growth and change, science, and curiosity. Early on, he felt a desire to become a therapist, and before that, a scientist. As he grappled with his own challenges and inner forces, he followed a meandering path from physics to psychology, from surgery to psychiatry, ultimately entering psychoanalytic training and private practice in 2002.
With over 20 years in private practice in Manhattan, Dr. Brenner has developed a creative, results-driven approach to help his patients understand themselves, identify and breakdown limiting patterns, and realize their most fulfilling and complete potential. It is his personal mission to help others, and through this, change the world for the better.
In this pursuit, Dr. Brenner recently completed work with SOL Mental Health as New York Medical Director, transitioning from Co-Founder and Former CEO of Neighborhood Psychiatry and Wellness. He is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist in Private Practice in New York City, and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
He is an entrepreneur, author, teacher, speaker, and not-for-profit board member with Vibrant Emotional Health, where he co-Chairs the Crisis Emotional Care Team Advisory Board, and is on the Board of Directors of Languages of Care, providing professionally-vetted translations of mental healthcare-related materials to further Global Health. He is co-Chair of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry’s Disaster, Trauma and Global Health Committee. He has been featured on a variety of top ranked psychology resources and media as a thought leader and contributor.
Dr. Brenner is the co-author of three books, Irrelationship: How We Use Dysfunctional Relationships to Hide from Intimacy, Relationship Sanity: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships, and the most recent sequel, Making Your Crazy Work For You: From Trauma and Isolation to Self-Acceptance and Love (Central Recovery Press), and co-editor and author for Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience: Integrating Care in Disaster Relief Work (Routledge, 2010). In addition, he is the author of the popular Psychology Today blog, ExperiMentations: Reflections on the Human Condition, with nearly 13 million views to date.
GEOFFREY GUERRERO
Born and Bred in Brooklyn, NY, Geoffrey Guerrero Katra Films founder, is a multi-award winning filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is the recipient of the 2019 Prosperity Nation Award, winner of 2020 UREEKA Google PowerUp Grant, winner of 2021 NYC Artists Corps Grant, and Winner of the 2022 Neighborhood Business Grant sponsored by the Citizens Committee for New York City and Wells Fargo. Guerrero graduated from CUNY’s Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Film Directing and minor in TV and Radio. As a filmmaker, Guerrero was selected as a finalist for the 2006 National Film Your Issue Competition for his provocative short “Here to Stay,” where President Obama, Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper, George Clooney, and Philip Seymour Hoffman served as honorary jury members.
In 2007 he guest directed a short film called “Rewind” that won the Best Short Film “On The Edge” Award at the 2007 HBO New York International Latino Film Festival. In 2008, his short film “Baile (Dance)” won the Best Short Film at the Vine Shorts Film Festival in Santa Monica, CA and screened at the 2009 HBO New York International Latino Film Festival and 2009 Babelgum International Film Festival. Guerrero’s film “J-1” screened at the Academy-Award Qualifying 18th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, Socially Relevant Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival, SAG-AFTRA Foundation Showcase and made its European Premiere at the Let’s All Be Free Film Festival in the UK.
Guerrero’s most recent film “Prerequisite” premiered at the 2017 Lighthouse International Film Festival and screened at the SOHO International Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, New York Short Film Festival, NYWIFT Film Festival, Williamsburg Film Festival, and New York No Limits Film Series. In June 2012, Guerrero launched the Katra Film Series – a widely hailed international film festival currently ranked one of the top 100 by FilmFreeway out of 10,000+ film festivals including Oscar-qualifying and BAFTA-qualifying festivals, showcasing quality short-form content and feature films by emerging and international Filmmakers. In 2018, with the success of Katra under his belt he went on to launch the acclaimed Bowery Film Festival with Co-Founder Kenneth Anderson. He followed the success of the Bowery by launching New Faces New Voices, Katra LatinX Festival, World Webfest Mania, and NY Pause Film Festival.
In 2022 Guerrero was invited to speak on a panel hosted by the New York State Multicultural Creativity Summit hosted by HBO’s NY Latino Film Festival. He was also invited to speak to the film and media arts students at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale and talk about his 20+ years experience in the industry. Guerrero is currently developing 5 feature films and a semi-autobiographical episodic series about his upbringing in the 90s in the rough-and-tumble Coney Island section of Brooklyn NY.