Mental Health and Wellness Mini Conference

Seasonal depression is real and it can have big effects on the mental health of Canadians. Triggers can include hot or cold weather, changes in sleep patterns and disrupted routines, social pressure, shorter days, body image concerns and/or seasonal allergies. Join us for a series of discussions, activities and locally produced short indie films around mental health and how to navigate getting through the Summer months, into the Autumn and back around again. Featuring Speakers: Nishant Jain is a writer and sneaky-artist, making secret drawings of his world everywhere he goes. Nishant’s work addresses urban coexistence, and drawing as a way to pay attention to our physical environments. He is the host of the popular SneakyArt Podcast, and writes a weekly Substack newsletter where he shares notes and drawings from his sketchbook adventures. His book, Make (Sneaky) Art, offers ideas to build a sketchbook habit based upon mindfulness and observation. Tasha Feuchuk, known online as terrorcatmom or as writer Drunk off Heart Condition, is an avid card-sender and mental health advocate. Having lifelong struggles with physical and mental health, Tasha feels strongly about taking time to take care of oneself. A literary creature, former musical theatre and show choir kid as well as persistent medical anomaly, Tasha began writing as a little one with a Dixon Primary Printer #1 and currently writes professionally with a mechanical keyboard or typewriter, whatever strikes their fancy. Her disabilities, namely Truncus Arteriosus Type 2 and a few DSM-5 entries, do make their life a bit more complicated but they also have granted her incredible opportunities. She's currently in cardiac rehab from her 3rd open heart surgery and working on a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style memoir as well as blogging. --- Featuring Short Films: The Day My Cat Saved My Life by Kagah Goh - 2021 (7:26 mins): Based on a true-life story of a severe psychotic episode which brings the narrator to the brink of suicide, where he is eventually found and saved by his cat. Kagan Goh is originally from Singapore, but is now a Vancouver-based Chinese Canadian multidisciplinary artist: published author, spoken word poet, playwright, actor, mental health advocate and activist. He was diagnosed with manic depression at the age of twenty-three, in 1993. Kagan is a well-known spoken word artist, essayist and poet, a respected and established voice in Vancouver’s literary community for over three decades. He has been invited to perform at readings, festivals and on radio, and has published in numerous anthologies, periodicals, and magazines. In 2012, Select Books in Singapore published his poetic memoir, focused upon his relationship with his esteemed father, Who Let in the Sky? *** Pet Un-Friendly Cities: Vancouver by Gleyse de França - Potiguara Productions - 2023 (7:02 mins): A short documentary exploring the impact of Vancouver’s housing and pet policies on vulnerable communities, mental health and everyday urban life. Pets + Mental Health by Gleyse de França - Potiguara Productions - 2021 (1:00 min): A short film exploring isolation, healing and the transformative power of the human-animal bond during the pandemic. Gleyse de França is a Vancouver-based Brazilian filmmaker, writer, producer, director and actor whose work explores mental health, social issues, immigration and contemporary urban life. Her short films Pets + Mental Health: Finding Love in Isolation and Pet Un-Friendly Cities: Vancouver have received international festival recognition across North America, Europe and Asia. Through intimate, socially conscious storytelling, her films explore the human-animal bond, mental well-being, isolation and the realities of navigating contemporary urban environments. *** Pebbles by Dimitri Kozma & Elaine Thrash - 2024 (12:17 mins): Emma is quietly unraveling inside an emotionally abusive relationship. Desperate for relief, she turns to her therapist, who offers an unexpected coping strategy: carry a small bag and drop in a pebble every time she feels hurt or dismissed. Dimitri Kozma is a Brazilian‑Canadian director/filmmaker, multimedia artist, and writer whose work blends surreal visual language with grounded emotional storytelling. Known for Prime Time or Feast for Vultures, The Meat, and Unlovers, his films explore identity, trauma, and the uncanny through intimate, atmospheric worlds that blur the line between reality and imagination. Elaine Thrash is a Brazilian‑Canadian actress and writer based in Vancouver. Her film credits include Lucid, Know My Words Forever, Prime Time or Feast for Vultures, and many others. She created the Vancouver Fringe play The Lucky Life of a Black Cat, and is the author of From Depression to Creation and How to be a Good Husband. Elaine wrote and stars in Pebbles, bringing a raw, intimate honesty to the role of Emma. --- Please register. Registration is not required to attend, but it helps us anticipate attendance and send