143 min.
2024
N-13
French language
Lithuanian, English subtitlesNicolas Philibert once again delves into the social stigma surrounding mental disorders and reveals how the world is seen and felt by patients in the psychiatric wards of St. Maurice’s Hospital. By capturing the patients’ individual conversations with social workers and general discussions about the institution, the filmmaker sheds more light on people with mental disorders. The patients’ diagnosis does not define the whole person’s identity. However, the lack of humanity, attention, tenderness remains a pressing problem in an overburdened treatment system, and the question of how to truly help remains open.
Nicolas Philibert
Nicolas Philibert studied philosophy and began his film career in the 1970s as an assistant director to René Allio, Alain Tanner and Claude Goretta. He turned to documentaries in 1990 and directed films including the orangutan portrait Nénette which screened in the Berlinale Forum in 2010. La Maison de la radio featured in the 2013 Panorama. His documentary On the Adamant won the Golden Bear in the 2023 Berlinale Competition. In the past 20 years, his films have been presented in over 100 retrospectives around the world.
