La Devinière
Benoît Dervaux
1999 - 90 min - 35 mm & Beta digital - Couleur - Belgique, France

On 18th February 1976, La Devinière – a psychotherapeutic centre – opened its doors to nineteen children judged incurable, who had been refused by all other avenues. Ordinary people, psychiatrists and education specialists could not deal with them or give them any recognition. It was as if there children had been exiled. La Devinière admitted them on a long-term basis, the founding principle being that they should not be sent away under any pretext whatsoever. Thus, the world "asylum" took on its original meaning – a place with no bars, no chemical treatment. A place where one has the right to "live with one’s madness". Over the past twenty years or more, a strong sense of solidarity has developed between individuals who, a priori, had no ties with one another.
As the seasons changed, I filmed a place that has rekindled the flame of life in a situation where everything once seemed hopeless. (Benoît Dervaux)