Douglas wraps up Frames of Mind 2008 series with La Brunante (Twilight)


With La Brunante, director Fernand Dansereau has created a poignant film in which Alzheimer’s disease play a part. This film is presented as the last movie in the Frames of Mind series at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute on May 21. Mr Fernand Dansereau will be attending and will participate in the discussion following the screening.

La Brunante features a powerhouse of Quebec actors: Monique Mercure, Patrick Labbé, Suzanne Clément, Stéphane Gagnon, Gaston Lepage, Vincent Gratton and Caroline Lavoie. Madeleine (Mercure), a 72-year-old woman grappling with Alzheimer’s disease is about to plunge into the Saint-Laurent River. Her attempted suicide is thwarted when she rescues Zoë (Clément), a 35-year-old singer on the run from thugs trying to recoup a drug debt. The elderly Madeleine convinces Zoë to join her on an impromptu journey, from Montreal to Percé, as she attempts to revisit her past before it is erased by Alzheimer’s.

Serge Gauthier, MD, FRCPC, Douglas’ expert specialized in Alzheimer’s Disease will join Dansereau for a discussion after the screening. “There are many stages of accepting a debilitating illness, such as Alzheimer’s. As close as 20% of our senior population could be affected within the next ten years; understanding this disease has never been more important,” says Dr. Gauthier.

“At the Douglas Institute we are actively studying the affects of the many contributing risk factors, including age, genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors, on brain development,” he adds. “Huge strides have been made in the last decade understanding the disease process and we anticipate imminent breakthroughs. Our goal is to better understand and treat the disease so that fewer people will be diagnosed.”

What: Frames of Mind screening, La Brunante. Followed by a discussion with Serge Gauthier and Fernand Dansereau.

Where: Douglas Hall, Douglas Institute, 6875 LaSalle Blvd.,Verdun.

When: May 21, 2008 at 7 pm.

Admission is free; parking is 3$. The film will be shown in French with English subtitles.
Discussion will be in both English and French.

About Fernand Dansereau
The prolific career of Fernand Dansereau spans more than a half-century and has caused him to be regarded as one of the “fathers” of Quebec cinema. This director contributed to the birth of the National Film Board (NFB) in the 1950s.

Born in 1928 in Montréal, Fernand Dansereau joined the NFB in 1955. One by one, he mastered the various roles of script-writer, director, and producer, and eventually was placed in charge of French productions. In 1968, he entered the private sector. Over his career, he directed approximately 50 short- and feature-length films, and produced equally as many. His films have garnered numerous national and international awards.
During the past 25 years, he has devoted himself more to television. For example, he wrote the scripts for the drama series Le Parc des Braves and for the series Shehaweh. He also adapted the novel Les filles de Caleb for the small screen. In 2005, the Quebec Government awarded him the prix Albert-Tessier, in recognition of his accomplished career. In 2007, he completed production on La Brunante