Monday, August 18, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Reviewed in Halftimeonline
- JButters, Halftime Magazine
Friday, May 2, 2014
A few words from Reel Roy Reviews
"The film pointedly critiques a society that often labels “mentally ill” those folks who view the world differently. In watching Addi and hearing him articulate his understandable frustrations with Khari, the viewer may intuit a rush to judgment that occurs out of annoyance and jealousy as much as it does concern for his brother’s well-being."
- Roy Sexton, Reel Roy Reviews
Friday, April 11, 2014
in Canadian Film Review
- Alexander Hutt, Canadian Film Review
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Another positive review
Not sure why, but "Balazs" is misspelled a number of times – still grateful for the review, thanks Independent Critic, read the whole thing here.
The brilliance of Toronto filmmaker Jonathan Balasz's 62-minute documentary is that he seems to make a conscious choice to not so much take sides as to simply celebrate the complex journey of a gifted artist and beautiful soul. Conspiracy debuted in the 1990's, but his career was at least modestly derailed by his being diagnosed with schizophrenia despite his own assertion that the voices he hears, in particular that of a demon known as Anacron, actually serve as inspirational guides for who he is and the music/art he creates.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, December 2, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
MARS in the Ryersonian
Great piece by Michael Lyons for the Ryersonian (one of Ryerson University's student papers), does a really good summation of the film and the issues involved.
Hip-hop artist collaborates with filmmaker to create a mental health discussion
Khari “Conspiracy” Stewart is the subject of the Mars Project, a documentary by Toronto-based filmmaker Jonathan Balazs.
An epic battle between cosmic forces may be an unusual topic for a documentary, but for hip-hop artist Khari “Conspiracy” Stewart it’s a daily reality. Stewart is the subject of the Mars Project, a documentary by Toronto-based filmmaker Jonathan Balazs.
The film will be screening at a few Toronto Public Library branches, including the Parkdale location, as part of Make Some Noise, a series that promotes the library’s local music collection through events and concerts.
Balazs first became aware of Stewart’s work and befriended him over a decade ago, through the Edmonton hip-hop movement.
Balazs says inspiration for the project grew out of a piece he wrote for a rap magazine focusing on Stewart’s music career. “I featured him because I had talked to his brother, and I wanted to know more about his music, and I wanted to figure out why he had the reputation that he did,” Balazs says. “I discovered in the interview that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but he believed ardently that this was an external demonic possession.”
Mars Project intimately explores Stewart’s connection with Anacron, a demonic alien with a telepathic link into his mind. The documentary tackles the complicated layers of Stewart’s life, including his experiences within the Canadian mental health system, addiction issues, his own spiritual diagnosis, and his art. The film also focuses on Stewart’s difficult relationship with his family, especially his twin brother Addi Stewart, who describes early in the film the change that occurred a decade ago: “It was like chapter two of Khari,” Stewart says. “Just not the guy that I knew in my childhood. Not the guy that’s my identical twin, or who I rap with. A whole other person.”
The film began as a five-minute video project completed in 2008 for A History of Madness, an undergraduate disability studies course at Ryerson University and part of Balazs’ degree in fine arts. Balazs knew there was an important story to explore, so he continued to develop the piece, which included an Indiegogo fundraising campaign last year which raised almost $3000 and helped him complete the project. This original short grew into the feature length piece, first released in 2012, which will be screening as part of the Make Some Noise series.
Thomas Krzyzanowski, chair of the Make Some Noise Committee, says the film interested the organization because of Stewart’s unique story, especially within Toronto’s diverse artistic scene. Balazs first approached the Toronto Public Library with the film, including a conversation with a Make Some Noise committee member at the Parkdale branch.
“He was interested in screening it at Parkdale because Khari lives in the Parkdale community, and we wanted to make sure it was involved there because of the film’s subject matter,” Krzyzanowski says. “The Parkdale branch is very close to CAMH, and we wanted to make sure we represented that community in the library.”
Make Some Noise is a project that started in 2006, which presents concerts, film screenings and workshops promoting the local music collections at Toronto Public Libraries. On top of a screening at the Danforth/Coxwell library, in Balazs’ neighbourhood earlier in November, Mars Project will be screened at the Parkdale branch on November 29th, and at the Maria A. Shchuka library in early December.
A screening in Parkdale was crucial for Balazs, who cites the area’s longstanding relationship with mental health institutions. There has been a mental health facility at 1001 Queen Street West, minutes away from Parkdale, for over 150 years. Stewart is one of many within the Parkdale neighbourhood with negative mental health treatment experiences, which are explored in the film. “A lot of times people in these situations who want to get information, who want to get an alternative from the mainstream, have to dig for it,” Balazs says.
On its website, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s largest mental health hospital, describes the spectrum of symptoms people with schizophrenia have, “including periods when they cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. Schizophrenia seriously disturbs the way people think, feel and relate to others.”
Mars Project challenges preconceptions of schizophrenia and complicates the idea of what mental illness is. It does so with quiet intensity and respect for Stewart’s unique, often dark experience. The film is as much a collaboration with him as an artist, as it is a documentary about him. Stewart is presented as someone with a unique and powerful perspective, rather than a victim or crazy person.
“I’m not thinking silently in my head anymore where no one knows,” Stewart says in the film, describing what some would consider a mental illness, but what he considers a spiritual battle. “What am I supposed to do? How do I explain this to somebody so they help me change it? How do I even figure this out? It’s so complex.”
- Michael Lyons, The Ryersonian
Hip-hop artist collaborates with filmmaker to create a mental health discussion
Khari “Conspiracy” Stewart is the subject of the Mars Project, a documentary by Toronto-based filmmaker Jonathan Balazs.
An epic battle between cosmic forces may be an unusual topic for a documentary, but for hip-hop artist Khari “Conspiracy” Stewart it’s a daily reality. Stewart is the subject of the Mars Project, a documentary by Toronto-based filmmaker Jonathan Balazs.
The film will be screening at a few Toronto Public Library branches, including the Parkdale location, as part of Make Some Noise, a series that promotes the library’s local music collection through events and concerts.
Balazs first became aware of Stewart’s work and befriended him over a decade ago, through the Edmonton hip-hop movement.
Balazs says inspiration for the project grew out of a piece he wrote for a rap magazine focusing on Stewart’s music career. “I featured him because I had talked to his brother, and I wanted to know more about his music, and I wanted to figure out why he had the reputation that he did,” Balazs says. “I discovered in the interview that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but he believed ardently that this was an external demonic possession.”
Mars Project intimately explores Stewart’s connection with Anacron, a demonic alien with a telepathic link into his mind. The documentary tackles the complicated layers of Stewart’s life, including his experiences within the Canadian mental health system, addiction issues, his own spiritual diagnosis, and his art. The film also focuses on Stewart’s difficult relationship with his family, especially his twin brother Addi Stewart, who describes early in the film the change that occurred a decade ago: “It was like chapter two of Khari,” Stewart says. “Just not the guy that I knew in my childhood. Not the guy that’s my identical twin, or who I rap with. A whole other person.”
The film began as a five-minute video project completed in 2008 for A History of Madness, an undergraduate disability studies course at Ryerson University and part of Balazs’ degree in fine arts. Balazs knew there was an important story to explore, so he continued to develop the piece, which included an Indiegogo fundraising campaign last year which raised almost $3000 and helped him complete the project. This original short grew into the feature length piece, first released in 2012, which will be screening as part of the Make Some Noise series.
Thomas Krzyzanowski, chair of the Make Some Noise Committee, says the film interested the organization because of Stewart’s unique story, especially within Toronto’s diverse artistic scene. Balazs first approached the Toronto Public Library with the film, including a conversation with a Make Some Noise committee member at the Parkdale branch.
“He was interested in screening it at Parkdale because Khari lives in the Parkdale community, and we wanted to make sure it was involved there because of the film’s subject matter,” Krzyzanowski says. “The Parkdale branch is very close to CAMH, and we wanted to make sure we represented that community in the library.”
Make Some Noise is a project that started in 2006, which presents concerts, film screenings and workshops promoting the local music collections at Toronto Public Libraries. On top of a screening at the Danforth/Coxwell library, in Balazs’ neighbourhood earlier in November, Mars Project will be screened at the Parkdale branch on November 29th, and at the Maria A. Shchuka library in early December.
A screening in Parkdale was crucial for Balazs, who cites the area’s longstanding relationship with mental health institutions. There has been a mental health facility at 1001 Queen Street West, minutes away from Parkdale, for over 150 years. Stewart is one of many within the Parkdale neighbourhood with negative mental health treatment experiences, which are explored in the film. “A lot of times people in these situations who want to get information, who want to get an alternative from the mainstream, have to dig for it,” Balazs says.
On its website, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s largest mental health hospital, describes the spectrum of symptoms people with schizophrenia have, “including periods when they cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. Schizophrenia seriously disturbs the way people think, feel and relate to others.”
Mars Project challenges preconceptions of schizophrenia and complicates the idea of what mental illness is. It does so with quiet intensity and respect for Stewart’s unique, often dark experience. The film is as much a collaboration with him as an artist, as it is a documentary about him. Stewart is presented as someone with a unique and powerful perspective, rather than a victim or crazy person.
“I’m not thinking silently in my head anymore where no one knows,” Stewart says in the film, describing what some would consider a mental illness, but what he considers a spiritual battle. “What am I supposed to do? How do I explain this to somebody so they help me change it? How do I even figure this out? It’s so complex.”
- Michael Lyons, The Ryersonian
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
25 min. 45 sec.
Thanks to Vancouver Public Library, Gallery Gachet and all those who came to our Vancouver screening. Though we felt a little blind in our Skype communication, Khari and I valued the experience and were glad to be talking to supporters from across the country.
And in Vancouver, thanks to Quin for this snap:
Friday, October 25, 2013
Victoria & Portland
We had some great opportunities presenting Mars in the Pacific Northwest this past week, with a screening at Movie Monday in Victoria, B.C., a local haunt for all kinds of thought provoking material, with a strong inclination to show mental health films. Quite pleased that the main programmer and proprietor of the weekly night Bruce Saunders (my personal paparazzi photographer), chose our film - that's him in the introduction.
If you can believe it, there was actually a lively Q&A.
The next morning at 8am, Bruce and I screened some clips for some doctors and clinicians for Vancouver Island Health Authority. I did a talk on specific issues I believed were relevant and touched on why I made the film. Couldn't have done the trip without their support.
That very evening included cancelled flights and a sprint to Portland at the beautiful Hollywood Cinema (endless gratitude to Dan Halstead and the rest of the buds at the Hollywood).
We even got a couple of reviews in the Willamette Week & The Portland Mercury.
Hope to see you soon Portland!
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