WORLD PREMIERE
Opens the 23rd annual
Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival
November 6, 2015 7:45 p.m. screening
BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA - 506 Bloor St. W.
Tickets can be purchased by telephone between 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. at 416-599-TIFF(8433) or toll free at 1-888-599-8433, online at www.rendezvouswithmadness.com, or in-person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street W from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
It should have been the Canadian dream. A kid from a small prairie town is scouted by a famous Junior-A coach. The coach mentors and tutors him all the way to an NHL dream career.
Except the coach was Graham James, a now-infamous sexual predator whose behavior was abetted and ignored through two Western League coaching stints and one in Europe.
And the kid was Sheldon Kennedy, a National Hockey League player whose self-destructive behavior finally made sense when he came out to the world as a survivor of sex abuse at the hands of James, his coach with the Swift Current Broncos.
Kennedy, who traded his star athlete status for a challenging job of role model, is the sometimes-uncomfortable star of Joshua Rof 's riveting documentary Swift Current.
As filmed by Rof , Kennedy's is a redemption story of stops and starts, of a dream turned nightmare, wounded families and one man's determination to take back his life despite repeated setbacks.
You sink or swim, and ultimately I chose to swim, Kennedy says. We know the social impact of abuse and we now know how it affects the brain. Going to a counselor a couple of times isn't enough.
Rof 's previous acclaimed documentary Lost For Life looked at a background of childhood abuse that violent criminals shared. He finds echoes of that theme with Kennedy's lapses - alcohol and drug abuse, substance-related auto accidents, etc., - that continued to pull him down even after he'd become a hero and rollerbladed across Canada to raise awareness and money for sexual abuse victims. Kennedy's final, successful stint in rehab put him on a path that led to his being awarded the Order Of Canada this year.
Turning his lens afield, Rof also profiles Graham Jolicouer and Mikki Decker two young people whose experiences (with a predator family friend and an incestuous father respectively) lead them to connect with Kennedy and his message at a university speaking engagement.
Sheldon is a survivor, and an amazingly self-aware spokesman for the cause of dealing with trauma, Rof says. He talks about the long-term effects of child abuse in a way no one else, to my knowledge, ever has on film.
About Rendezvous With Madness (RWM)
The first festival of its kind in the world and currently the largest, Rendezvous with Madness was founded in 1993 and is produced each year by Workman Arts. RWM investigates the facts and mythologies surrounding mental illness and addiction as presented by both Canadian and international filmmakers, as well as by visual and media-based artists. The festival provides filmmakers and artists with opportunities to exhibit work that may not otherwise be seen; facilitates discussion between artists and audiences on these cinematic and media representations; and increases awareness of, and advocacy for, mental health and addiction issues among the broader public. Our 23rd Festival runs November 6-14, 2015, for more information please visit:
www.rendezvouswithmadness.com
###
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
WORLD PREMIERE
