“Free Spirits”

Free Spirits – A Manifesto for a Different Kind of Support

*Les Esprits libres* is the third installment in a trilogy about caring for people with Alzheimer's disease, produced in 2025 with the same team of caregivers.

“A question arose: What might a place look like where we’d like to grow old—or see our parents or grandparents grow old? Very quickly, we envisioned an open, intergenerational space—and, above all, one without white coats.”

We also wanted a creative environment that could bring people together around a shared project. That’s when we thought of theater. It may seem simple: an open house, caregivers without white coats, dances every night, meals we prepare and share together, children playing… All of this resembles “ordinary life,” and yet it’s a far cry from the way most nursing homes are organized today.

So this is what the film is about: an experience that should be ordinary but which, given the current state of healthcare in France, is, strictly speaking, “extraordinary.” It offers several levels of interpretation. You can watch it as a story, a tale, filled with surprising, funny, and moving characters who embark on a wild adventure. But you can also interpret it as a proposal for a profound transformation of the current system of care for people with Alzheimer’s disease. It is a film whose goal is to convey a political message that can be summed up as follows: a different kind of care is possible.”

Bertrand Hagenmüller, director.

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