Collaborate With Us To Create
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Collaborate With Us To Create
MYTH'S OF MADNESS
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We are seeking individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions, mood disturbances, or altered states of perception to collaborate with filmmaker Matt Griffo in creating visual and/or audio vignettes that communicate their experiences beyond words. Together, we will translate the emotions, sensations, and perspectives behind these experiences into creative storytelling, helping audiences develop a deeper sense of understanding and connection with experiences they may not otherwise be able to comprehend.
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We are seeking creators, artists, animators, production assistants, and behind-the-scenes collaborators to help bring Myths of Madness and The Body Is the Mind to life. Contributors may assist with visual storytelling, animation, lighting, production setups, creative development, and other aspects of the filmmaking process. We are building a community of individuals who believe that through shared stories and creative collaboration, we can help create a world with greater understanding, empathy, and less stigma surrounding mental health.
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Through surreal imagery and artistic expression, the documentary explores challenging emotions and different ways of perceiving the world. Myths of Madness examines the invisible worlds we carry within us. By allowing audiences to encounter these inner realities before they are ever labeled, the film asks what it truly means to understand another person’s experience—and whether any human experience can ever be fully translated into words.
We meet a stranger only through their words,
And even those reveal but little light.
Beneath each face a hidden lifetime moves,
Too vast for names, too deep for simple speech.
We speak as though we've understood the whole;
We barely glimpse the surface of their life.
Creator
Matt Griffo is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, photographer, musician, and independent health researcher based in Chicago. Drawing from his own lived experience, he is creating Myths of Madness and The Body Is the Mind to amplify the voices of others with lived experience and foster thoughtful conversations about mental health through documentary storytelling.
Advisor, Painter, Visual Artist
Matt Bodett is a Chicago-based artist, educator, and founder of the Chicago Center for Mad Culture. Through visual art, writing, performance, and advocacy, he explores madness as a cultural identity and challenges stigma surrounding psychiatric experiences. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he has taught at institutions including Loyola University Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. For the Myths of Madness project, Matt serves as a Lived Experience Advisor, helping ensure that experiences related to schizophrenia and madness are represented with accuracy, dignity, and respect.
Illustrator, Visual Artist
Chris is an illustrator and visual artist whose work combines dark, intricate imagery with traditional pen and ink techniques to create immersive worlds filled with symbolism, emotion, and turbulent human experiences. By incorporating fire into his artistic process, Chris creates layered visual experiences where individual images transform and connect, telling larger stories across books and other creative formats.
As a lived experience contributor, Chris shares his journey navigating complex trauma and the process of making meaningful changes to support his overall health and well-being. Since beginning this process in 2026, he has experienced a reduction in his symptoms and continues to explore the relationship between creativity, healing, and personal transformation.
Through his art and personal experience, Chris brings a unique perspective to the project — showing how creativity can become a powerful tool for expression, understanding, and connection.
Lived Experience Contributor
Vince is a lived experience contributor whose story reflects a journey from profound struggle to rebuilding his life. After years of experiencing severe daily panic attacks, psychosis, and substance addiction involving cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, cigarettes, vaping, and other drugs, Vince reached a point where he began making significant changes to reclaim his health, relationships, and future.
Through his commitment to personal growth and lifestyle changes, Vince has transformed many areas of his life. He no longer experiences panic attacks or psychosis, has removed many substances from his life, and has significantly reduced his nicotine use, transitioning away from cigarettes and vaping to nicotine pouches.
Today, Vince has rebuilt a sense of stability, connection, and purpose. He has gone from unemployment and isolation to having a job, a loving relationship, and the ability to experience life in new ways — including recently traveling through Europe with his partner. As a lived experience contributor, Vince shares a story of resilience, transformation, and the possibility of creating a new chapter after periods of intense hardship.
Magician & Mentalist
Brielle is a Chicago-based magician, mentalist, and performer who has appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us and uses storytelling, psychology, and wonder to connect with audiences. Beyond her work in magic, Brielle shares her personal experience living with dermatographia and generalized anxiety, offering a firsthand perspective on navigating invisible health challenges while continuing to pursue creativity, connection, and personal growth.
As a lived experience contributor, Brielle brings honesty, curiosity, and vulnerability to conversations about the relationship between the mind, body, and overall well-being as well as making fun of Matt Griffo during interviews.
Flow Artist & Fire Performer
Ivy is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary performer and flow artist who uses movement, creativity, and fire performance as a form of expression and connection. Through her work with flow arts, including fire spinning and movement-based performance, she explores the relationship between art, embodiment, and personal transformation.
As a lived experience contributor, Ivy shares her personal journey navigating seasonal depression and the changes she made throughout her process of reducing her symptoms and ultimately reaching a point where she no longer experiences them. Her story explores the connection between mental health, lifestyle, creativity, and the many ways people can reconnect with themselves through intentional change.
Lived Experience Contributor
Hana is a lived experience contributor whose story represents resilience, determination, and the power of taking an active role in one's own health journey. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008 and stage 3 endometrial cancer in 2023, Hana has dedicated herself to exploring how fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, and intentional lifestyle choices can support her health and well-being.
Through years of consistency and determination, Hana has built a lifestyle centered around movement, strength, and resilience. She works full time while maintaining an active routine that includes cycling, running, resistance training through Orangetheory Fitness, paddleboarding, and other forms of exercise that challenge both her body and mind.
Hana approaches life with discipline, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to moving forward. As a lived experience contributor, she shares a powerful perspective on resilience, personal responsibility, and the ability to continue pursuing the life you want despite the challenges you may face.
Flautist
Wendy is a flautist, accountant, and lived experience advisor whose passion for music, personal growth, and helping others has shaped her contributions to this project. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Wendy performs with Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles, using music as a way to connect with others and share her creativity through collaboration.
Throughout her life, Wendy has navigated significant challenges related to sensory sensitivities, including sensitivity to light, sound, and food. Through her own process of exploration, lifestyle changes, and personal growth, she has experienced meaningful improvements in these areas, expanding the ways she engages with the world around her. Reflecting on this transformation, Wendy describes the experience by saying, “I feel like I was taken over by a relaxed person.”
As a lived experience advisor, Wendy brings compassion, insight, curiosity, and a thoughtful perspective to the project. Her contributions help create a deeper understanding of the many ways people experience change and personal transformation. Wendy has been a foundational part of this project, offering guidance, encouragement, support, and a unique perspective that has helped shape its direction.
Circus Artist
Skunk is a Michigan-based circus performer who combines humor, movement, and a wide range of circus arts to create dynamic and expressive performances. With a unique ability to blend playfulness, creativity, and physical skill, Skunk brings a sense of curiosity and wonder to every performance.
As a creative contributor and lived experience participant, Skunk’s work explores the relationship between imagination, perception, and personal transformation. After experiencing visual hallucinations that deeply affected her life, including recurring visions of shadow-like figures, she developed her own ways of managing and reducing these experiences over time.
Through her artistry and personal journey, Skunk represents the power of creativity, resilience, and self-discovery. Her performances contribute a unique perspective to the project’s exploration of the many ways people experience the mind, the body, and the world around them.
Percussionist
Jeff Quay is a percussionist, drummer, music director, and composer whose career has been defined by the intersection of rhythm, performance, and storytelling. For more than two decades, Jeff served as the drummer and music director for the Chicago production of Blue Man Group, where he helped shape the powerful, primal, and unconventional percussion-driven sound that became a defining element of the production.
Throughout his career, Jeff has performed for audiences around the world and contributed to televised performances, recordings, and live productions. His work reflects a deep understanding of rhythm as a form of communication — one that can create connection, emotion, and shared human experience.
Jeff now brings his decades of musical experience to the scores of multiple projects, including Myths of Madness, The Body Is the Mind, and Matt Griffo on Health. For Matt Griffo on Health, Jeff creates the drum tracks that help define the individual theme music for each person’s journey, bringing a unique musical identity and emotional depth to their stories.As a musician and creative collaborator, Jeff brings exceptional skill, intuition, and a lifelong passion for using rhythm to tell stories.
Violinist, Accordionist
Sam Hyson is a Chicago-based violinist, accordionist, and multi-instrumentalist whose work explores the connections between music, culture, and storytelling. With a passion for international and traditional music, Sam performs across a wide range of styles, including Bengali folk music, Arabic music, mariachi, and other global traditions.
Sam is a member of the Newberry Consort and has performed in theatrical productions with Goodman Theatre, bringing his versatility as a musician into both concert and stage settings. He is also a co-founder of the Chicago Folklore Ensemble, an ensemble dedicated to sharing music and stories from diverse cultural traditions.
For this project, Sam contributes violin and accordion performances to the score, adding layers of emotion, texture, and musical storytelling. Through his artistry, Sam helps expand the sonic world of the project and highlights the ability of music to connect people across cultures, experiences, and generations.
Cellist
Leyla I. Royale is a Chicago-based cellist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose work explores the intersection of music, storytelling, and creative collaboration. Beyond her work as a performer, Leyla is also an audio editor, arranger, and recording artist, bringing a versatile approach to music across live performance, theater, and recorded projects.
As a cellist, Leyla has contributed her talents to a wide range of musical projects, performances, and soundtracks, using the expressive depth of the cello to create atmosphere, emotion, and connection. She is also passionate about exploring Chicago’s history and culture through her work as a storyteller and tour guide, reflecting her curiosity and appreciation for the stories that shape the world around us.
For this project, Leyla contributes cello performances to the underscore, adding a rich emotional foundation to the music and helping bring the stories of each person’s journey to life. Through her artistry, Leyla demonstrates the power of music as a language for memory, emotion, and human connection.
Saxophonist
Dr. Rocktagon aka Eli V. Wilson is a Chicago-based saxophonist, composer, arranger, and mouthpiece refacer whose work spans jazz, rock, Motown, Latin music, cabaret, and theatrical performance. Originally from the Detroit area, Eli earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Wayne State University and has performed alongside renowned artists including John Clayton, Eddie Daniels, Jimmy Heath, Jerry Bergonzi, and legendary Motown groups such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Martha Reeves.
Beyond the stage, Eli is also known for his expertise as a mouthpiece refacer, combining technical precision with a deep understanding of the instrument's voice. Performing under the stage name Dr. Rocktagon, he is a familiar presence throughout Chicago's cabaret and burlesque community, bringing energy, versatility, and expressive musicianship to every performance.
For this project, Eli contributes tenor and baritone saxophone performances to the underscore, delivering rhythmic drive and powerful melodic performances that bring the score to life. His performances add depth, character, and momentum, helping shape the emotional energy of the stories being told.
Electric Guitar
Teddy Oliver is a Chicago-based guitarist, songwriter, and performer whose work blends elements of alternative rock, indie rock, and psychedelic music. As a member of the band Autoflamingo, Teddy is part of Chicago's vibrant independent music community, performing regularly at venues throughout the city while helping shape the band's distinctive sound through expressive guitar work and songwriting.
Drawing from both melodic sensitivity and the raw energy of live performance, Teddy approaches music as a form of storytelling—creating performances that are both emotionally engaging and sonically dynamic.
For this project, Teddy contributes electric guitar performances to the underscore, adding texture, atmosphere, and melodic expression to select pieces throughout the score. His performances help reinforce the emotional landscape of the films while bringing a distinctive voice to the music.