The Quiet Zone

Meg's Jaw - A film essay

February 2023 •English

This is Meg. She has TMJ and not a lot of time to work on it.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

March 2006 •English

This 2005 documentary film chronicles the life of Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his mental illness and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.

The White Caravan

October 2022 •Italian

The neon sign ‘Circus’ illuminates the wide street of Naples’ suburbs: four circus families were abandoned by the institutions, and now they’re awaiting the pandemic will disappear, like a magic show. The circus has stopped, but their lives go on.

Ernie & Joe

March 2019 •English

Ernie & Joe follows two officers with the San Antonio Police Department mental health unit who are diverting people away from jail and into mental health treatment — one 911 call at a time.

Community First, A Home for the Homeless

March 2019 •English

Community First! Village is designed to lift the chronically homeless off the streets of the Austin, TX, offering them a place to call home, helping them to heal from the ravages of life on the streets, and allowing them to rediscover a purpose in their lives. This documentary explores the events that cause homelessness and the heartwarming stories of being welcomed into a nurturing environment where dignity and self-worth are restored.

Alive Inside

January 2014 •English

Five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and dementia—many of them alone in nursing homes. A man with a simple idea discovers that songs embedded deep in memory can ease pain and awaken these fading minds. Joy and life are resuscitated, and our cultural fears over aging are confronted.

The Natashquan punk

Invalid date •French

In 1976, a young punk lands in Natashquan. It’s the beginning of an unlikely love story between a small fishing community and this new arrival. Yet the relationship meets a brutal end when, three years later, the punk disappears without a trace. Forty years have now gone by, and the village of Natashquan is experiencing a slow, irreversible devitalization—one by one, villagers have been going missing. Those who tell the tale of the punk today see it as the story of a small community’s symbolic survival.

The Fiend

January 2011 •English

Joe wants to be a rapper. Max wants to be a filmmaker. They go to a secluded house in rural Virginia to document the production of Joe's demo CD. But what begins as a funny music documentary turns into a film about Joe's harrowing battle with a self-destructive alter-ego.

Malades sans ordonnances

November 2021 •French

De Gaulle, le géant aux pieds d'argile

June 2012 •French

Magic Pills

June 2017 •English

Filmmaker and homeopath Ananda More, Hom, DHMHS travelled the world to meet with scientists, practitioners, and patients to learn whether homeopathy is science-based or is an elaborate placebo that affects millions and endangers lives.

The Hasty Man Drinks His Tea with a Fork

January 2003 •English

A blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.

What the Health

March 2017 •English

Filmmaker Kip Andersen uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases, and he investigates why the nation's leading health organizations doesn't want people to know about it.

Letter from Tokyo

September 2018 •Japanese

Letter from Tokyo is a documentary film that looks at art, culture and politics in Tokyo, Japan. Shot over three months during the summer of 2018, and with a particular focus on grass roots arts initiatives, the use of public space, and queer politics, the film provides a snapshot of Japan’s capital in the run up to the 2020 olympics.

Son of Torum

February 1989 •Estonian

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.

Heal for Free

August 2014 •English

Stay inside all the time? Never take your shoes off? Feel fatigued? You could have Natural Deficit Disorder. Learn how the earth can help neutralize the disease-causing radicals in the body, by doing something as simple as swimming or walking barefoot.

Filhos de João, O Admirável Mundo Novo Baiano

July 2011 •Portuguese

A panorama of Brazilian popular music from the 60s and 70s through the musical group Novos Baianos. A retrospective of the community lifestyle adopted by its members and the influence inherited from singer João Gilberto.

Under Stress

January 1964 •English

Shows new methods in treating those afflicted with mental health issues. Contrasts past treatment regimes where people were locked away out of sight with the new, 1960s, psychiatric ideas of "group therapy" and talking therapy. Also shows practical behaviours aimed at returning patients to productive lives in society and outpatient services.

Salvage

March 2019 •English

With a massive, unrestricted salvage area, the Yellowknife dump is one of the last and largest open dumps in North America. People from all walks of life go there, to search for everything from tools to clothes to home décor. This documentary follows a group of passionate salvagers over five years as the dump evolves and eventually succumbs to the inexorable efforts of city bureaucrats to subject it to sensible regulations and controls.

Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story

May 2019 •English

In the world of professional sports, no American athlete ever came back from a mental health disorder....until Ron Artest, now known to the world as Metta World Peace.