ANY GIVEN DAY | IN-PERSON (2/19)
ANY GIVEN DAY | IN-PERSON (2/19)
Chicago Filmmakers (map) | February 19 at 7:00 PM: A filmmaker with mental illness follows three defendants through a specialized mental health probation program. While sharing their rarely seen struggles, she faces her own challenges, making clear just how precarious the ties between people with mental illness, their families and society can be. Named Best Film of Hot Docs 2021 by Toronto Film Critique Association.
ANY GIVEN DAY
Join us for an in-person screening of ANY GIVEN DAY at Chicago Filmmakers on Saturday, February 19 at 7PM. Director Margaret Byrne will be joined by Kartemquin Films’ Gordon Quinn for a post-screening conversation moderated by Dan Rybicky.
In 2015, in the midst of widespread defunding of community mental health care programs across the country, in Chicago, the Cook County Jail has become a default treatment center for people living with mental illness.
While investigating the treatment of detainees, filmmaker Margaret Byrne meets Angela, Dimitar and Daniel, participants in a mental health court probation program. Their friendship gives each of them the courage to be seen at their most vulnerable. In turn, Margaret begins to confront one of the most difficult periods of her life, culminating in a hospitalization for depression.
What begins as a heartfelt desire to accurately portray the lives of Angela, Dimitar and Daniel, forces Margaret to reckon with her own history of mental illness. Margaret’s own hospitalization that occurs during the making of the film, becomes an inspiration to weave her own story into the film. Byrne’s intimate observations of the three, captures the hard-fought triumphs and struggles of living at the intersection of mental illness, poverty, and addiction.
Filmed over five years, their stories expose a system designed for punishment, yet used as a replacement for mental health care. The absence of support takes a toll on family members and friends whom Angela, Dimitar and Daniel provide for and depend on. The resulting stigma and isolation keep them caught in cycles of victory and defeat.
Any Given Day provides deeply personal insight into the necessity of caring relationships, especially when life is at its most difficult. (2021, USA, 93 min)
Directed by Margaret Byrne
Produced by Margaret Byrne
Key Cast: Daniel Brown Jr., Dimitar Ivanov, Angela Roache-Pena
www.instagram.com/anygivendaydoc/
Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema
In-person screenings are held at Chicago Filmmakers firehouse cinema located at 1326 W Hollywood Ave in the Edgewater neighborhood. Please be sure to arrive 15 minutes prior to showtime and be ready to present your order confirmation number for admission. Proof of full vaccination or a negative Covid-19 PCR test result is required to attend all screenings and events.