A single psychiatric institution in France resisted the cruel fate that befell 45,000 patients during World War II. At the Saint-Alban Hospital, doctors, patients, nuns and nurses worked side by side to ensure the survival of all. The doctors led a community to develop a new concept of psychiatry and the role of “the madman” in society. In the remote Saint-Alban Hospital, an unusual community of doctors, nurses, nuns and patients formed. They worked side by side to ensure the survival of all. Under the leadership of revolutionary psychiatrists like François Tosquelles, a refuge was created here, along with a radical new approach to psychiatry. Patients were no longer seen as mere objects of medical intervention, but as human beings with their own voice and dignity. Resistance to the Nazi occupiers merged with the fight against institutional violence and social oppression. A movement developed in Saint-Alban that would fundamentally reform psychiatry after the war. The approaches that emerged here – in particular the idea of “institutional psychotherapy” – had a lasting influence on the way mental illnesses are dealt with in France and beyond. OUR LUCKY HOURS uses rare film footage, audio archives and photographs discovered in Saint-Alban to tell the story of this extraordinary clinic and its inhabitants. The documentary premiered at the renowned festival Visions du Réel and was shown at other international festivals, where it was praised for its in-depth historical research and impressive archive montage.
Documentary, Independent
1h 17min
16
FR
DE
EN
During World War 2, 45,000 psychiatric patients died in French hospitals. Only one facility opposed the carnage: the asylum in Saint-Alban.
A single psychiatric institution in France resisted the cruel fate that befell 45,000 patients during World War II. At the Saint-Alban Hospital, doctors, patients, nuns and nurses worked side by side to ensure the survival of all. The doctors led a community to develop a new concept of psychiatry and the role of “the madman” in society.
In the remote Saint-Alban Hospital, an unusual community of doctors, nurses, nuns and patients formed. They worked side by side to ensure the survival of all. Under the leadership of revolutionary psychiatrists like François Tosquelles, a refuge was created here, along with a radical new approach to psychiatry. Patients were no longer seen as mere objects of medical intervention, but as human beings with their own voice and dignity.
Resistance to the Nazi occupiers merged with the fight against institutional violence and social oppression. A movement developed in Saint-Alban that would fundamentally reform psychiatry after the war. The approaches that emerged here – in particular the idea of “institutional psychotherapy” – had a lasting influence on the way mental illnesses are dealt with in France and beyond.
OUR LUCKY HOURS uses rare film footage, audio archives and photographs discovered in Saint-Alban to tell the story of this extraordinary clinic and its inhabitants. The documentary premiered at the renowned festival Visions du Réel and was shown at other international festivals, where it was praised for its in-depth historical research and impressive archive montage.