A groundbreaking event showcasing how the arts transform lives and promote well-being, this inaugural Arts in Healing International Film Festival (AIHIFF) is bringing together artists, filmmakers, healers and policy makers to showcase the transformative role of the arts in wellness. It's not just a cultural event—it is a call to action!

Across the world, healthcare systems are undergoing a critical transformation: the integration of the arts into medical, mental health, and community wellness practices. AIHIFF's screenings and discussions aim to offer critical insight into this work.

WHY THIS MATTERS: Contemporary research from leading institutions like Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirm that the arts have measurable benefits for physical and mental health, having profound impacts on healing, recovery, and community well-being. This festival is a direct invitation to healthcare leaders, policymakers, funding bodies, and all interested communities to witness firsthand how the arts are transforming lives—and to engage in discussions about scaling these practices in hospitals, mental health programs, rehabilitation centers, and public health initiatives.

WHY AIHIFF: Founded by expressive arts therapists Mary Andrus DAT, LPC, LCAT, ATCS, Zachary D. Van Den Berg MA, LPC, ATR-BC, and Judy Rubin PhD, ATR-BC, HLM—a pioneering figure in art therapy and an original documentarian of the field—AIHIFF is uniquely positioned and deeply committed to showcasing powerful stories that illuminate the transformative role of art, music, dance, drama, storytelling, expressive therapy, and other creative modalities in therapeutic settings worldwide. Guided by a committee of international leaders in the field, we are dedicated to expanding the global conversation through an ongoing worldwide search for documented work and virtual screenings that bring these transformative stories to audiences everywhere.

Unbound tells the powerful story of a community coming together to uplift those most impacted by severe mental illness—through art.

More than 1,500 people created a striking, 80-foot-long sculpture at one of California’s largest psychiatric facilities: the Department of State Hospitals–Napa. Never before had an artwork of this magnitude been created inside a secure facility, in partnership with the outside community.

Over 500 patients, 200 hospital staff, and 800 community volunteers joined forces to build a sculpture of collective liberation—hundreds of winged hearts flying free from a cage—together forging a bold new model of participatory public art.

Born from one woman’s personal journey to heal from her family’s experience with schizophrenia, Unbound was conceived as an antidote to the despair and isolation so often surrounding mental illness.

Unbound is an inspiring example of personal and collective healing through art—a powerful reminder of the boundless potential of the human spirit and what becomes possible when we open our hearts, lift each other up, and embrace the transformative power of creativity.

Director: Vince Beeton 

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Music From the Inside is a documentary that follows a unique music recording program inside Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI) in Portland, Oregon. Each week, incarcerated men gather in the CRCI Studio to write, share, and record music—a creative outlet that fosters self-expression, community, and personal growth.

The CRCI Studio is a program of Open Hearts Open Minds, a nonprofit that supports people serving prison sentences through the arts and dialogue.

The film emerged from a collaboration between Nate Query—bassist for The Decemberists and facilitator of the CRCI Studio—and filmmaker Nili Yosha, founder and executive director of Outside the Frame, a nonprofit that empowers houseless and marginalized youth to direct their own films. Yosha was introduced to the CRCI Studio by Talilo Marfil, a successful hip hop artist, former inmate, and alum of Outside the Frame. 

Music From the Inside showcases how the featured music recording program gives incarcerated men a powerful means of self-expression, community-building, and preparation for reentry. The film highlights their voices and the profound impact making music has on their lives.

Content warning: language

Director: Nili Yosha 

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After a middle school student was murdered in Oakland, CA, students asked for an in-depth study of gun violence. As a result, the dynamic, art-based nonprofit Vision Quilt—which empowers communities to create their own solutions to gun violence through art, education, and inclusive systems change—partnered with Lighthouse Community Public Schools to develop a trauma-informed, multidisciplinary curriculum. This program has been implemented with eighth graders for the past five years.

Addressing Gun Violence: Creating Visionaries, Storytellers, and Community Activists is a film that showcases the powerful impact of this work on students, staff, and the broader community.

“The topics in the film are very prescient, given that the #1 killer of American children and teens is gun violence,” said the film’s director, Caz Stuart. “This film shows the positive impact of this innovative curriculum on students, teachers, and community members. As a foreigner, I was shocked that gun violence has become an everyday occurrence in the U.S. I am hopeful that people will be moved by this film and adopt this program.”

Director: Caz Stuart 

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This film documents four artists impacted by breast cancer as they channel their experiences into poignant works of art. Through painting, mixed media, and installation, their stories invite viewers on a journey to explore symbolism, resilience, and the deeper meaning embedded in their creative expressions.

Director Alina Avila Ko, a breast cancer survivor and mental health advocate, uses art as a powerful tool for awareness and education—one medium at a time. She is currently producing a series of short documentaries centered on breast cancer and mental health.

A passionate advocate for social change, Ko champions Advocacy Art—using her work to influence legislation and support movements that promote civil and welfare rights, "I see filmmaking as a tool to empower individuals. I produce films that spotlight the lived experiences of cancer survivors, people living with mental illness, and those in recovery—while fostering a sense of connection and community through shared stories and intimate portrayals. It’s about letting people know they’re not alone."

Director: Alina Avila Ko 

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In 2017 Edinburgh artist Andrew Crummy was diagnosed with throat cancer. He vowed that if he survived he would tell the story of cancer by bringing people together to create something potentially bigger and more globally significant than his other great work, The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

A Good Thing To Do, supported by Macmillan Cancer Support, chronicles the inception of the idea and what it means to those who have taken part so far... most of whom live with cancer or have someone very close to them who has. 

The film was first screened to an invited audience at The Cornerstone Centre, Princes Street, Edinburgh. This final version of the film incorporates shots from that day that included an exhibition of the first completed Cancer Tapestry panels, Andrew's preliminary paintings and drawings, fours additional screenings of the film and workshops led by the stitchers featured in the film, allowing visitors to add their own stitches to this historic work. 

Director: Jon Gill 

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Jade reflects on her mental illness and how Art Therapy has helped her cope with it.

Director: Hugh Durnford-Dionne

This award-winning documentary follows a group of youth experiencing homelessness as they write an original song with Gabriel Kahane, Creative Chair of the Oregon Symphony. Their composition is brought to life in a powerful performance with the entire 75-member Oregon Symphony Orchestra at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on April 15, 2023.

In the Grey Wild was created in partnership with Outside the Frame, an organization dedicated to training homeless and marginalized youth to be directors of their own films and lives. Through filmmaking, they gain a creative outlet, job skills, and a sense of dignity and possibility—empowering them to take control of their futures.

Director: Nili Yosha

Meet Dan, a 75-year-old artist living with cerebral palsy, and the extraordinary team providing his round-the-clock care. This short documentary delves into the joys, challenges, and uncertain future of direct care work, highlighting its critical importance for millions of Americans like Dan.

Both Dr. Jon Hallberg, the executive producer, and director Brennan Vance were drawn to the story after being deeply moved by their personal and professional encounters with care workers. They were inspired to honor the direct care process and shed light on life with disabilities.

In How to Dare, Dan Stallworth’s infectious joy and creative ambition make him an inspiring figure, demonstrating how direct care enables individuals with diverse abilities to live with choice and agency. One of the lasting takeaways for the director was realizing that care extends beyond the medical field. It’s not just a technical, life-saving process; it’s an ethos, a philosophy, and a worldview.

"Before this project, I had never considered filmmaking as an act of care. But with the help of Dan and his care team—Sam, Mel, and Delphine—I realized that storytelling is a way I can offer insight, comfort, and perhaps even healing to those whose stories I tell, as well as to those who witness them."

Director: Brennan Vance

Artist and art therapist Erin Partridge works with elders suffering from dementia and Alzheimers. I See You demonstrates how Partridge's art connects with them in amazing ways by tapping into their long-dormant memories and gives these elders a voice they no longer possess as well as an outlet of self-expression. 

Director: Brian K Leonard 

This film is a documenting of Delaine Due's Make One Take One project, which she created in response to the Almeda Fire in Southern Oregon in 2020. Delaine, a licensed art therapist, developed the project to provide victims of mass trauma and homelessness with a means to reclaim their autonomy through the found-object medium. 

Director: Robert M Hastings 

Using art therapy as a non-pharmacological medical approach, the DUERER research team in Nuremberg, Germany, has been exploring the connection between aging and creative expression in several research studies since 2017.

The short documentary film The Mind's Image was produced as part of a research project and illustrates in an essayistic way the abilities and resources of older adults living in a care home. The focus is on the abilities and emotions of the older people, not on limitations or illnesses.

Director: Daniel Asadi-Faezi