This annual film series focuses on issues related to teen wellness in the areas of health, mental health, sexual health, and substance use and abuse in order to create a community forum for education, communication, understanding, and awareness. Each screening includes an in-depth discussion with filmmakers, film subjects, and/or subject area experts.
A portion of the proceeds for this program goes to support Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) Wellness Centers.
2022 SEASON
Click image to view trailer
MISSION JOY: FINDING HAPPINESS IN TROUBLED TIMES
AT THE RAFAEL
SCREENING + DISCUSSION
TUESDAY, MARCH 15 • 7:00
STREAMING [email protected]
FILM + PRE-RECORDED DISCUSSION
AVAILABLE MARCH 16-20
Academy Award®-winning director Louie Psihoyos teams up with co-director Peggy Callahan on MISSION: JOY – FINDING HAPPINESS IN TROUBLED TIMES, a documentary with unprecedented access to the unlikely friendship of two international icons who transcend religion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu. In their final joint mission, these self-described mischievous brothers give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. They offer neuroscience-backed wisdom to help each of us live with more joy, despite circumstances.
Inspired by New York Times bestseller The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film showcases the exchange between these two Nobel Peace Prize winners that led to that book. Consisting largely of never-before-seen footage shot over five days at the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamsala, the film invites viewers to join these luminaries behind the scenes as they recount stories from their lives, each having lived through periods of incredible difficulty and strife. With genuine affection, mutual respect and a healthy dose of teasing, these unlikely friends impart lessons gleaned from lived experience, ancient traditions, and the latest cutting-edge science regarding how to live with joy in the face of all of life’s challenges from the extraordinary to the mundane. MISSION: JOY is an antidote for the times. Directors Louis Psihoyos, Peggy Callahan (US 2021) 90 min
The screening will be followed by an in-depth panel discussion featuring:
JASON GANT, Behavioral Health Coach
EMILIANA SIMON-THOMAS, Ph.D, Science Director, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley
JOLENE SMITH, Impact Producer, Mission: JOY
TAWNY STROTZ, Redwood High School student
The panel discussion will be recorded and available for viewing as part of the streaming program.
2021 SEASON PROGRAM
Click image to view trailer
CHASING CHILDHOOD
ONGOING ONLINE on [email protected]
Chasing Childhood explores how free play and independence have all but disappeared from kids’ lives— while stress, anxiety, and depression have skyrocketed. This timely documentary takes us to three communities that are trying to shift the culture to create room for play and independence with the hope of raising kids to become competent, healthy, and happy adults. Some potential solutions are also offered by the leaders of this movement including former Stanford Dean and author of How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims and biological psychologist Peter Gray, who help us examine how we got to this place and how we might empower our kids going forward. Directors Margaret Munzer Loeb & Eden Wurmfeld (US 2021) 90 min
The screening will be followed by an in-depth, pre-recorded panel discussion with special guests:
- Vicki Abeles – Impact Producer, Chasing Childhood; Director, Beyond Measure, Race to Nowhere
- Madeline Levine, PhD – Psychologist; Co-founder, Challenge Success; author, Ready or Not: Preparing Our Kids to Thrive in an Uncertain and Rapidly Changing World, The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids, Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success
- Margot Johnson – Student, Redwood High School
- Eric Saibel – Director of Student Services, Ross Valley School District; Co-founder, Global School Play Day
- Moderator – Joanne Parsont, CFI Director of Education
CFI Education is building the next generation of filmmakers and film lovers through its creative film programs for Bay Area students, serving more than 8,000 young people per year as well as hundreds of educators, adults, and families. Featuring a rich program of screenings, events, seminars, and hands-on workshops, CFI Education introduces students to the power of film, promotes global awareness, fosters media literacy, develops critical thinking skills and lays the foundation for a lifelong appreciation of cinema.
TUHSD Wellness Centers offer specialized support for teens at their high schools including health, mental health, substance use/abuse and sexual health services and education. TUHSD Wellness offers both direct services (1:1 + group services) as well as school wide prevention and educational programs for students. TUHSD Wellness partners with a wide array of local community organizations to provide expertise and support to our teens. Learn more at the TUHSD Wellness website
SPONSORED BY