“Warm and sympathetic … a worthy winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear.” (The Guardian)
There are few as skilled in the subtle, immersive and quietly revelatory art of the observational documentary as Nicolas Philibert. Here he brings his compassionate craft into the lives of those aboard the Adamant, a unique day care centre for those with mental disabilities, that floats in the middle of the Seine. The timber-clad barge in central Paris acts as a sanctuary for patients, where they can access not only traditional therapeutic measures, but also express and extend themselves creatively. Whether it be composing music, painting, drawing, accessing the library or cooking, we bear an unobtrusive and affirming witness to lives improving through an approach not stifled by conventional, box-ticking thinking.
“As a practitioner of gentle empathy, Mr. Philibert is a master.” (Critic’s Notebook)
“An artful look at outsider artists.” (The Hollywood Reporter)