Independent Thriller “The Mental State” Sweeps the Catalina Film Festival winning Best U.S. Feature Film, Best Director and Best Male Lead

The Mental State swept the awards at the Catalina Film Festival this weekend, taking home the Best U.S. Feature Film, Best Director and Best Lead Male Actor awards. Based on the play of the same title, The Mental State tells the story of a high school senior from rural Kentucky suffering a mental health crisis and the lack of community resources his family has to help him. The film touches on sensitive subjects such as school shootings and gun violence, whilst also exploring the painful reality of the mental health crisis that is plaguing our society. 

The Catalina Film Festival celebrated its 12th year, returning to the mainland of Long Beach in the Scottish Rite Cultural Center on September 21st & 22nd, and then sailing to its namesake on Catalina Island for the weekend for its classical screening and red-carpet premieres at the historic Avalon Casino Theatre from September 23rd through the 25th.

James Camali, the director, was accompanied by his filmmaking partner, and cinematographer Ronnee Swenton. Matthew Einstein of Tradition Pictures and Glen Trotiner produced the film and guided every part of the process from script to the finished movie. The script was penned by Jeremy Anderson, Joshua Barclay and Camali.

The audience was riveted by the standout performances given by the cast. The film is led by newcomer Jance Enslin, who won Best Male Lead at the festival for his role as Andy Cady, and includes veterans such as Carly Pope (Elysium), Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), and Bryan Greenberg (How to Make it In America). 

Casting directors Patricia McCorkle and Katja Zarolinkski assembled the ensemble cast. “After about fifteen seconds into his audition, it was obvious that he was the right choice for Andy,” said Camali of Enslin. Camali also remarked that “each actor came to this set ready to give all they had, which they certainly did. I’m very thankful for this cast.” 

Matthew Einstein discussed Camali’s work on the project, “James was so connected to the material and was extremely determined to make a meaningful statement with this film. He would be awake until the wee hours of the morning after long shoot days to make sure everything was just right before the next day. It was a pleasure to work alongside him throughout the process and to support his efforts.”

Camali stated what sets this movie apart from others is that it “brings a lot of empathy to every single party involved in a school shooting. Each one of these situations is a tragic circumstance and we of course wish that these themes weren’t as relevant as they are. We worked extraordinarily hard to express everyone’s perspectives with the utmost respect and compassion.” 

The film’s success at the Catalina Film Festival offers a glimpse at the impact the film will surely make as it screens at more film festivals. The film also won Best Feature at the New Jersey International Film Festival and screened in the Boston Film Festival. The film will also show in the coming weeks at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Louisville’s International Festival of Film, and Syracuse International Film Festival.