Welcome to
Rethinking Mental Health 

Mad in Norway’s International Film Festival
September 24 to 26, 2026 – Lillehammer, Norway

This September, we invite you to come to Lillehammer, Norway, to be inspired by films from around the world
– films that rarely reach mainstream cinema.

Who are we,
and who is invited?

Mad in Norway is a webzine and part of the Mad in the World network. Our mission is to promote a paradigm shift in mental health care
– away from a narrow disease-based model and toward a more humanistic approach that truly supports recovery.

Our international community welcomes the general public, people with lived experience, relatives, professionals,
researchers, students, cultural workers, and policy-makers.

The festival

In addition to film screenings, the festival will offer conversations with filmmakers, panel discussions, personal stories, and artistic performances. Above all, the festival is a space for human connection and new friendships, across national borders and differing perspectives.

We will present powerful films in a wide range of genres and formats. Together, they offer insights that may change how you understand life and mental health.

Mental health struggles are often defined through diagnoses. 

But what if these struggles are signals –

expressions of a deeper longing for connection with ourselves and with one another?

Through stories of emotion, longing, and the search for identity in a fragmented world, the festival explores the human condition
at the intersection of inner and outer realities.

Lillehammer

The small town of Lillehammer offers a perfect setting for the festival.  Film screenings and presentations will be held at the local cinema, and many of us will stay at a nearby conference hotel with a cozy lobby and a large dining room. Lillehammer’s town center, with its cafés and pedestrian street, provides a warm and welcoming setting for shared experiences and meaningful conversations
among participants from many countries.

We will meet in Lillehammer to think together – to broaden our horizons and rethink how we understand mental health struggles and human needs.

Our hope is to offer inspiration, encouragement, and renewed energy for ongoing public education and change in the field of mental health.

SAVE THE DATES September 24th to 26th and join us for all or part of the festival! Stay tuned for further announcements on this page
—we look forward to welcoming you!
https://madinnorwayfilmfest.org/