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A documentary about mental illness will be screened this weekend to raise money for a group planning a therapeutic farm outside Belen.

Casas de Vida Nueva is finalizing a deal for 20 acres that is intended to be an agricultural community serving New Mexicans with serious mental illness, said Desiree Woodland, the group's secretary.

The group will screen "Out of the Shadow," Susan Smiley's documentary about her mother, Millie, who has paranoid schizophrenia. The 67-minute film will be followed by a short video about Casas de Vida Nueva and a Q&A session. The event starts at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill.

There also will be a drawing for two pieces of art, and Starbuck's will provide coffee, Woodland said.

She said proceeds will help buy a septic tank for the property. The plan is to create a sustainable organic farm and begin accepting residents and patients in 2008 or 2009.

Plans are for a facility that would provide transitional housing for up to 36 people who are not ready to be on their own, Woodland said. Medical personnel would be on hand to dispense prescriptions for illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The facility does not plan to accept people with substance abuse problems, she said.

Woodland said Casas de Vida Nueva looked as far north as Las Vegas, N.M., for land. She said a philanthropist, who has remained anonymous, donated the 20 acres, outside Belen. The land is worth about $500,000, she said.

"We feel like the community is very accepting of us being there," she said. "And it's farmland."

Woodland said the project comes from one of the group's board members, Charlotte Back, who has overseen New Life Homes in Albuquerque.

Woodland said Smiley's film shines a light on the struggles involved in the public health care arena. Publicity materials said the movie is "a story of madness and dignity, shame and love" that "helps to dispel the stigmas and misconceptions surrounding this harrowing illness."

Woodland said the film offers a positive message.

"It gives people hope, because it helps people navigate the mental health system, which is not easy," she said.