HOSPITAL(ITY) CHRONICLES by Brigitte Lacasse
CHRONIQUES HOSPITALIÈRES de Brigitte Lacasse
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49m
49 min, documentary, Quebec, Canada, 2021
Directed by Brigitte Lacasse
Produced by Brigitte Lacasse
Languages French and English
Synopsis
This is Brigitte Lacasse’s first film: a poetic, autobiographical essay that continues her long reflection on the health care system, begun in 2007 with her performance piece La Femme Saran’wrap. Tapping into her in-depth understanding of illness—her own and that of family members—she examines the sense of individual powerlessness before the medical system and how subjectivity plays into the patient-provider relationship. Through family archives, diaries, medical files, drawings, animations and performances, she takes a long, penetrating look at Québec’s health and social services system and the alternative treatments on offer. The result is a cinematic patchwork that leavens personal trauma with self-mockery as it asks why a holistic, patient-centred approach is not the norm.