I'm Not With You

Marie-Violaine Brincard, Olivier Dury / France / 2024 / World Premiere / 75 min.

synopsis

The closed ward of the psychiatric hospital in the city of Cadillac is intended for people who, due to mental illness, are a danger to themselves or those around them. Some wound up there voluntarily, some against their will. The film crew spent one month behind the walls of the institution. The idea was to adapt to its rhythm and disrupt the daily routine as little as possible. The protagonists of the film – Théo, Lucie, Louisette, Hervé or Benjamin – are therefore filmed in long, stationary shots, whether they conduct dialogues and monologues about their dreams and troubles or just smoke cigarettes in the garden. The more time we spend with them, the less we consider the environment they are in and begin to perceive them as dispassionately as the camera does. Not as patients with a diagnosis, but as people with a rich inner life and great imagination who yearn for closeness and understanding. The wall separating the normal from the abnormal thins and the film about institutional care becomes a reflection on the ability to co-exist despite differences.

biography

Marie-Violaine Brincard is a French filmmaker who studied modern literature, film directing and audiovisual production. She focuses on political and human rights topics, such as the Rwandan genocide. Olivier Dury (1967) graduated from the film department in Vancouver. He is a director of feature and documentary films, video clips and commercials. Together they have filmed several award-winning documentaries.