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« Their Cannes festival »
Since 1999, the « Mental health video meetings » enable the public to discover the limitless creativity of video workgroups from psychiatric health care institutions and to exchange with team gathering patients and medical staff.
From all over France and even further, from Marseille to Belgium, from Arras to Canada, small groups are heading to the auditorium of the Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie à La Villette, in Paris. Mental health video meetings has been held by the EPS Maison Blanche, the Elan Retrouvé Association and the Ceméa, from November 17th to 18th last year: on the menu, showing of about fifty movies, followed by talks between the audience, movie makers and psychiatrists….with Daniel Friedmann, movie maker, sociologist and researcher at the CNRS (National Scientific Research Center) as special guest. Dream, Illness, Journeys…
Documentary, fiction, clip, “road movie”, self-portrait, visual poem, musical comedy, animated film, the programming group received 66 videos. The choice was hard: “We have some criteria : videos must have been made by or with patients involved in a therapeutic process within mental health institutions. They mustn’t be longer than 30 minutes and film-making teams will attend the discussion after the viewing”, explains Daniel Simonnet, male nurse, movie maker, moderator and co-founder of the Meetings.
To offer another look at psychiatry
Specialized educator? ; Léon says, a positive experience ; The oldest street in Paris ; The GEM sings its song ; Mauxdits ; I, the artist ; Visit to the museum ; Delirium très mince…
Treated subjects are varied: dreams, illness, journeys, everyday life... “But there are no movies that show pain or delirium. Thanks to the work done in mental health institutions, there is always detachment, distance, humor.” During a debate in 2008, Serge Tisseron, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, noticed: “This co-construction work leads to productions that sometimes give priority to the look of oneself on oneself and sometimes face the others. The possibility is given to us to see, hear, and show parts of oneself in a different way. Video is a mediation tool form oneself to oneself and from oneself to others.”
“Movies were often put on ice, remembers Daniel, there was a lack of audience and debates so that something could arise. The audience’s look contributes to the self-esteem improvement, the socialization and the decrease of narcissistic behavior. We wanted to offer another look at psychiatry. It is a very expected time, coming to Paris motivates teams, some of them work following this goal. It someway their Cannes film festival.” Moderators notice some behavior and conversation changes. Groups exchange on their practices and with the audience, some of them stay in touch and work together.
Throughout the year, video workgroups gathers patients, medical staff and sometimes moviemakers.
“I’m a bit into everything, adds François, but my part of the work is mainly the picture and composition. Some are playing, writing, editing. I love making beautiful pictures that please us, and we hope, will please others, Francois pursues. I’m acquiring the skills and rules to respect in a space of freedom. I was looking for an occupation to spend my time after a hospitalization, it helps me structuring my mind, it gives me time and space landmarks. It is a long term group work, everyone brings his own ideas, we are not on our own as in front of a blank canvas or a blank sheet of paper. I really value this. These are healthcares, in a therapeutic structure, not only a hobby, and it helps moving on, expressing oneself, it makes our brain works, it’s interesting. Video within therapy is developing and the quality is improving.” That’s why a think tank on practices in the use of video in psychiatry is born and is building ties between the Meetings.
