For Mental Health Awareness Month, Piccione Arts will be presenting the first annual Talking It Out Online Film Festival, showcasing a diverse range of 21 short films centered around the theme of mental health awareness this coming May.

Beginning May 6th, seven films per weekend will be available for OnDemand streaming over the course of three weekends.

Week 1 - May 6th-8th

• Letters (dir. Lina Green) - United States

• Demons (dir. Janaya Jaree Chapman) - United States

• Don't Be a Stranger (dir. Omid Iranikhah) - United States

• Solito (dir.  Max Laurent & Gabriel Moreau) - France

• Happenings (dir. Erica Lecce & Liz Spruell) - United States

• Brothers First (dir. Damari Butler) - United States

• Plagued Heart (dir. Liam Jeanson) - United States

Week 2 - May 13th-15th

• No Pain No Gain (dir. Markesha Cooper) - United States

• Anxious (dir. Laura Dorn) - United Kingdom

• U vs You (dir. Cara Diaz) - United States 

• Last Ride (dir.  Soda Persi) - United States

• Lasagna (dir. Irith Fuks) - Netherlands

• Bobby (dir. Cortez Mack & Daniel Merrick) - United States

• Good Evening (dir. Hubert Górski) - Poland

Week 3 - May 20th-22nd

• Cruel and Unusual Therapy (dir. Gina Marie Rodriguez) - United States

• ksms (dir. Ula Warzeé) - Brazil 

• In Her Head (dir. Seth Michael Richards) - United States

• Faces (dir.  Charly Wenzel) - United States

• Silent Voices (dir. Maria Fe Picar) - United States

• Two Souls (dir. Ariel Finks) - United States

• The Essence of Adolescence (dir. Joshua Nelson) - United States

On May 23rd, audiences will be emailed a private link and encouraged to vote for their favorite film, with the winners to be announced on the festival’s Eventbrite page on May 31st at 7pm EST.

• 1st Place - 25% of all donations

• 2nd Place - 15% of all donations

• 3rd Place - 10% of all donations

All votes will be tallied and revealed on May 31st after voting for the festival has been completed. The remaining 50% of all donations will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Free tickets and our exclusive donation link are available now at www.eventbrite.com/e/talking-it-out-a-virtual-arts-festival-2021-2022-season-tickets-133631201521

About the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival

Currently in its second season, the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival is an ongoing production of Piccione Arts, which has brought online theatrical performances to audiences worldwide since 2020.

Founded by Anthony J. Piccione, the first Talking It Out performance was presented live at the Dramatists Guild Foundation's Music Hall on March 10th, 2019. At the time of the initial readings, Michael D'Antoni wrote a rave review of the event for Five-Star Arts Journals, describing it as having “nothing less than pure, unadulterated, genuine, unpretentious focus on the agonies and anguish of mental illness, while also celebrating the triumphs and accomplishments over those living with, or those living with someone who suffers from mental health issues.“

Originally intended to be a one-time event of minimalistic staged reading of short plays, the event has since been revived as an ongoing festival of plays - as well as an expanding line-up of additional arts programming including a film festival presented each May - presented online via digital platforms. Upon the first live screening of Talking It Out in November 2020, playwright & critic Jan Ewing praised the festival in a review for Hi! Drama for having “drawn from a wide range of ages and genders” and for “detailing the pain and distress encountered not only by those suffering from the various disorders, but also those who support them.” Each of the plays is presented by an ensemble of actors from different corners of the world, highlighting various issues of mental illness - ranging from anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, and more.

Follow @talkingitoutfest on Facebook & Instagram for regular updates.