S4.E44 ∙ This Was Alive -- BiDiPi #47

Since the 1990s, the old Gaulin Manor has housed erstwhile residents of Saint-Hyacinthe psychiatric hospital. Some thirty inhabitants occupy this alternative lodging space, their salvation after the wave of deinstitutionalization that one day threw them into the streets with no resources. Profit rules, and so this motel at the world's end will be destroyed to fill the pockets of promoters. The film captures this turning of the page, where each lost character reshuffles their daily life in moving on to the next chapter. Lending an ear to these forgotten outcasts, Manor is careful in framing these shadowy figures, bringing them to life in the light of our attention.

Filmmaker Jennifer Di Cresce follows Peter Ferentzy, PhD., a controversial author and addictions expert though a tangle of career ambitions, love and dysfunction. When evidence of Peter's own crack addiction begins to surface, Jennifer contends with the compromised aims of his "harm reduction" advocacy.

A documentary about the everyday lives of several youths from the Stockholm suburb of Hässelby, including a young man with ADHD and a music artist.

Avigail, the director of this film, is dealing with a break-up from her girlfriend and with raising a child that she had with her. At the same time, her religious family in Jerusalem is struggling with the 'demons' threatening to overwhelm their daughter Ariella. Ariella is an Ethiopian girl, who was adopted by Avigail's parents, Rabbi Daniel and Hannah Sperber, when she was four. She is the tenth child, with nine older siblings, each of whom chose a unique path to follow. But Ariella forces the family to contend with problems of another sort: alcoholism, petty thefts, and prison. Does the story of Ariella have an inevitable ending? Can she accept and absorb the love and concern that surround her?

"Heroin is like your best friend and worst enemy at the same time." MonaLisa was living a regular life as a teacher and mother with young children. Depression tears her life to pieces, she self-medicates with heroin and loses everything. After years of drug abuse she meets Fredrik. Love helps them in their fight to break destructive patterns, and in their attempts to make their dreams come true. MonaLisa Story is a unique documentary filmed over 8 years.

Story of a Luthier is a tale of timeless values, of beauty and poetry. We look closely to the life of Renzo, a luthier who masters a craft which has survived the restless advent of technology: violin making. We follow him at work, in his studio, finding out the secrets behind the making of violins. The documentary also features interviews with some of Renzo's clients and other musicians, who guide us through the history of music.