The Cinematheque

“Remarkable… As Depardon’s proudly humane film makes all too clear, there, but for the grace of God, go we all.”

Geoff Andrew, Sight and Sound

Every year in France, close to 100,000 people are placed under psychiatric care without their consent. In an attempt to find a better balance between the protection of patient’s rights and the need for treatment, a new mental health law was enacted there in 2013 whereby all patients involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital must appear before a judge within 12 days. Informed by medical records and a doctor’s recommendations, the judge conducts these interviews within the hospital itself, meeting face to face with patients who plead their cases with varying degrees of desperation and lucidity. Given full access to film these encounters for the first time, legendary filmmaker and photographer Raymond Depardon trains his empathetic lens on the place where psychiatry and justice meet, giving a voice to those who have gone unheard.

“Rarely has a filmmaker been able to document madness in such a direct way, with Depardon showing extreme compassion in how he captures patients pouring their hearts out to the judge, in a sort of legal confessional.” Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter

Note: People in B.C. requiring hospital treatment for mental disorders can be involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act. People can challenge that decision by requesting a review panel hearing. A review panel consists of three appointed members of the Mental Health Review Board: a physician member, a legal member, and a community member. The review panel decides whether the patient’s certification should continue after hearing opposing arguments from a representative of the mental health facility (usually the treating psychiatrist) and the patient (who has the right to request free legal representation at the hearing by a representative of the Mental Health Law Program).

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Ken Chow, Doug LePard, David Mossop, and Dale Pope.

Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.