Novanta Giorni

On Call

March 2016 •French

At the consulting service for immigrants at the Avicenne Hospital in suburban Paris, we observe the sorrow and powerlessness of the immigrants who come here.

Donauspital

January 2012 •German

The daily workins of Austria's Danube Hospital.

Coma

July 2007 •English

Four young Americans who've each suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury emerge from their comas at a New Jersey medical facility. Their eyes may be open, but now the real challenge for each of the patients, their families, their doctors and their therapists begins. Brain healing isn't predictable, we're told, and certainly is not guaranteed. So with each 'major' step forward that is observed (opening one's eyes, bending a thumb upon command, vocalizing a word, answering a question correctly) comes a sense of jubilant relief and hope from the families of these patients, but as we soon see, the more a patient progresses, the more difficult things can be for all involved. Moments of faith & hope contrast with disappointments & frustrations, moments of confidence with moments of doubt. It's difficult to watch, and unimaginable to have to ever live through.

Der lange Weg ans Licht

February 2008 •German

Sicko

May 2007 •English

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

Baby Parts for Sale

January 2001 •English

Join Marlin Maddoux, host of the nationally syndicated radio news talk program Point of View, for an investigation into the multi-million dollar a year baby parts trafficking industry, which is one of the most lucrative businesses in operation today. Yet most Americans are unaware of its existence. Many have heard about the controversy surrounding fetal tissue research but have no idea how the tissue is obtained. Today, some are claiming that cures for a number of devastating diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and AIDS, are just around the cornerand that fetal tissue is desperately needed for research. But is it really?

Preemie

Invalid date •English

Born 3 months premature and weighing only 1 pound 12 ounces, Mollie was given a 1 percent chance of survival. Through months of struggle, which included nearly one year in the neonatal unit of Grand Rapids, Michigan's Helen Devos Children's Hospital, Mollie proves that miracles happen. "Preemie" highlights the struggles, the pain of having a preemie, and the stories of how strong the smallest of babies are.

And Outside Life Goes On

July 2021 •French

The small regional hospitals of Vevey, Montreux, Aigle and Monthey are closing in favor of the new, larger, more adapted and more modern hospital in Rennaz. As the construction of the new hospital progresses, emergency physicians Eric and Frédérique tell us about their daily life in the face of illness and death.

Letter from a Yellow Cherry Blossom

April 2002 •Japanese

Kazuo Nishii, renowned editor and photography critic, died in 2001 of stomach cancer. Two months earlier he contacted Naomi Kawase, whose works he admired, to document the remaining weeks of his life. Kawase visits him in the hospital and films the progression of his sickness and the conversations between the two.

If We Knew

Invalid date •Dutch

If We Knew is a documentary about paediatricians in an intensive-care unit for newborns. A film about the compassion needed to heal the sick and occasionally needed to hasten the death of a child.

On the Edge

March 2023 •French

Things are busy at the Paris hospital where young psychiatrist Jamal and his colleagues work. The place is run down, the staff are exhausted, budgets are constantly being slashed. You know the story, but you’ve rarely seen it conveyed as engagingly as in ‘On the Edge’, which employs a handheld camera and meaningful, artistic interventions to observe the daily routine at the psychiatric ward. The deeply sympathetic Jamal is an everyday hero with an exemplary, humanistic disposition, for whom the most important prerequisites for mental health – and for a healthy society in general – are good relationships with other people. He puts his philosophy into practice by listening patiently, giving good advice and organising theatre exercises based on Molière. Realism and idealism, however, are in balance for the young doctor, at least as long as the institutional framework holds up.

Big Charity: The Death of America's Oldest Hospital

May 2014 •English

This documentary film includes never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews to tell the story of Charity Hospital, from its roots to its controversial closing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. From the firsthand accounts of healthcare providers and hospital employees who withstood the storm inside the hospital, to interviews with key players involved in the closing of Charity and the opening of New Orleans’ newest hospital, “Big Charity” shares the untold, true story around its closure and sheds new light on the sacrifices made for the sake of progress.

Perfecting the Art of Longing

October 2021 •English

Cut off from his loved ones due to the strict COVID-19 lockdown at the long-term care facility where he lives, a quadriplegic rabbi is filmed by his daughter while reflecting on love, mortality and longing.

Mission COVID

November 2020 •French

The COVID crisis triggered a real war against the virus. Civilian or military, medical, paramedical or logistical personnel all joined forces to try to deal with it. At the Hôpital d'Instructions des Armées in Percy, in the south of Paris, this real tour de force is both human and technical. On every floor, the staff was confronted with this crisis situation requiring cohesion, adaptation, commitment, immediate decisions, unprecedented actions... with a common objective: to unite to save lives. What has this crisis changed in their profession?

Emergency Ward

January 1959 •English

This 1959 documentary short is a frank portrait of the daily operations inside the Montreal General Hospital’s emergency ward.

Reimagining A Buffalo Landmark

April 2019 •English

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

Click to Ransom

October 2022 •English

A small rural hospital in Japan battles an international cybercriminal gang that is holding them ransom with their stolen patient data.

Harrow Hospital Carnival

August 1933 •

Harrow’s extraordinary and opulent pageant, and seaside holidays on the south coast.

The Heart of the Emergency Room

January 2024 •Japanese

A variety of patients are brought in by ambulance 24 hours everyday. In Japan, ambulance as a part of municipal fire departments, do not charge for transportation to hospitals. Under the motto of "emergency care that never refuses," the Ekisaikai Hospital in Nagoya accepts everyone from the elderly with no relatives to those in need. However, the number of ambulances carrying critically ill patients reached a record high due to the pandemic. Patients rejected by other hospitals are pouring into the Ekisaikai Hospital, and the beds are filling up fast... Documentary filmmaker Takuro Adachi observes doctors and patients in various generations and background, and listens to their real voices.

À votre santé

September 1974 •French

Focuses on the state of the Quebec health system in the early 1970s. This film reveals the harsh reality of emergency rooms. There, medical teams, facing a serious shortage of staff, are facing a real invasion of patients. The technical means, often insufficient, make the task even more difficult.