This is a festival that celebrates film that breaks down barriers and stigmas regarding mental health and celebrates other mental health warrior filmmakers.

A Mental Health Warrior is a creative who has been touched by mental illness. But he or she does not let it get them down. They use their creativity and their filmmaking talent to crush those barriers.

Our first festival was a small success. We hope to double our attendance as well as have an online component on Eventive so the Mental Health Warrior ethos of using Film as a weapon against stigma and our own mental turmoil can spread worldwide.

This Festival is the brainchild of Max Blaska. He’s a writer and filmmaker but also a mental health warrior. He has fought anxiety, depression for most of his life. He is also on the autism spectrum.

He firmly believes in the power of film and the performing arts to break down stigma.

Madison Wisconsin

May 2nd Get together mixer for filmmakers

May 3rd in person screening

May 4th to 11th access to films online

We urge that if you can come in person, do so because there is nothing like seeing films at a festival with other film fans.

Last year we had some awesome sponsors. Elite Cognition, Superbetter, Revival Infusion, and Fisher Family Dental were out sponsors. You too can be a sponsor. We will have links to the sponsors below.

An agency specializing in therapeutic recovery-focused mental health therapy and clinical counseling services for individuals and families in the Madison, Wisconsin area and Dane County community community area and Dane County community

Promote youth mental health, resilience, social-emotional learning and student success in a way that is practical & engaging.

The SuperBetter app uses the psychology of game play to achieve epic wins in all of life. Over 1 million people have played SuperBetter.

✻ Welcome to our festival ✻

✻Dream it✻

✻Submit Your Film✻

✻ Welcome to our festival ✻ ✻Dream it✻ ✻Submit Your Film✻

This festival is also a fundraiser for two great non-profits that help in the mental illness community. A third of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to NAMIWI. Another third to the Frank Jo Moscato Foundation and the final third will go to help pay for the 2026 film festival

The Franki Moscato Foundation exists to abolish adolescent suicide in Wisconsin through eager action to provide funding to deserving families and schools, create and disseminate professional public service media content, manage a safe space for healing collaboration, and grow awareness of being a creative, resource-plentiful partner.

NAMI Wisconsin is the state organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. They provide support, education, and advocacy for people affected by mental illness and their family members.

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Be part of something awesom

Join us in breaking down mental health barriers through the power of cinema.

We are currently accepting films through Filmfreeway. Be one of the first films to screen at this one of a kind film festival.


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  • She’s On The Run. Dylan Query

    A teenage girl tormented by severe anxiety, depression, and hallucinations, finds herself unable to manage her overwhelming emotions. Escaping into an 80s-inspired altered reality born from obsession, she becomes determined to end her life.

    With a six-shooter tucked in her back pocket, she hurtles down this dark destructive path, searching for escape. The angels in her life desperately try to pull her back from the brink, but lurking in the shadows, a sinister beast relentlessly urges her onward, determined to ensure she completes her tragic quest.

  • It Stops With Me Brian Plow

    A short documentary, following a young woman and mother who emerges from childhood trauma and addiction, finds resilience and forges a new life for her and her daughter.

  • Absent Of Me Erin McCluskey

    Absent of Me” is a short documentary that offers a look into the lives of nine individuals across five U.S. states and three countries who live with a little-known mental health condition known as depersonalization disorder. With expert insight from medical writer Jeffrey Abugel, audiences will gain a clearer understanding of this largely unknown and under-researched condition.

  • The Pen Ethan McSweeny

    A woman succumbs to her obsessive-compulsive disorder when she finds an unfamiliar pen in her purse, featuring Nancy Anderson's Drama Desk-nominated performance in this short film of a one-woman musical by Dan Collins (book & lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music).

  • Alice Kamil Hardin

    Sergey recently lost his family and faith in the future, but artificial intelligence does not allow him to make a fatal mistake. Once in the loop, a smart speaker starts a dialogue with him. After disconnecting her from the network to complete what she started, the speaker continues to conduct a dialogue, as if she not only hears, but also sees what Sergei is going to do.

  • Doctor Time Steve Grace, Jason Brown

    15 year old Robin has a big imagination and dreams of being a hero. At school all he wants is to be liked and have his turn in the limelight. When will he have a chance to prove himself and show he is capable? After he is humiliated in front of his class, a chain of events unfold and Robin realises his true power, as the super hero Doctor Time.

  • And Yesterday and Today and Tomorrow Sophie Martinez

    A girl struggles to fit in at a mental health treatment facility after coming out of a major depressive episode that derails her life.

  • Embrace Me Megan Gladding, Angharad Gladding

    A young women is tasked to tap into her childhood trauma. When she is faced by her younger self, will she be able to embrace the pain of the past or will she continue to run away from it?

  • 988 Mathilde Suissa


    A dedicated crisis hotline responder navigates her own internal struggles while assisting a caller.

  • Anne Lia Tasoudi

    In a high-pressure world, Riki navigates the complexities of anxiety alongside her steadfast friend Anne, where overwhelming expectations loom large. Together, they confront personal challenges, resilience, and embark on a quest for inner peace in a modern society that demands it all.

  • Marble Me Free Diane Leslie Kaufman

    How do we cope and what do we do when physical and emotional pain, obstacles, and hardship block our way forward? This "dark night of the soul" journey is powerfully depicted in the "Marble Me Free" animated film.

  • Overmedicated Rose Movizzo

    A young woman battles with the consequences of her psychiatrist prescribing her excess medication.

  • The Sound Antony Petrou

    Beth lives a simple rural life with her parents on their secluded family farm. One day, out of nowhere, Beth’s fragile mother begins to hear a mystery sound that nobody else can hear. The Sound quickly becomes an overwhelming source of pain and frustration, driving Beth’s mother to the brink. Desperate to alleviate her mother's pain and suffering, Beth becomes obsessed with finding and stopping the mystery of The Sound….

  • Dear Pra Nitin S Adsul

    Even as a family advances on the path to the American dream, landmines of mental health issues camouflaged by self-shame and social stigma threaten to tear them apart. Will love and soul-baring transparency give them the strength to rise beyond a devastating situation? A freshman Congressman’s heart wrenching tale shines an unflinching, yet caring light on an affliction that has upended the lives of millions of individuals and families in the US and around the world.

  • Good Side Of Bad Alethea Root

    Our feature presentation

    WHEN A YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER HAS A SEVERE MENTAL BREAK, HER SIBLINGS COME BACK TOGETHER TO HELP HER HEAL.