On The Edge

Things are busy at the Paris hospital where young psychiatrist Jamal works. The place is run down, the staff are exhausted, and budgets are 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 and giving good advice. Realism and idealism, however, are in balance for the young doctor, at least as long as the institutional framework holds up. On the Edge is a vital and urgent report from inside the institution of psychiatry, and a reminder to take care of ourselves and each other.

Feature Competition section is supported by Macquarie University