Composed mostly of still images, CHSLD shows final moments shared between a mother and her son. Support systems are at the heart of this documented narrative, where the director, who is present for his mother, is himself supported by the attendants he meets and with whom he builds relationships during visits that become increasingly emotional as death slowly intrudes on the words exchanged and the images captured. The film reveals that this intimate and personal experience, while universal in character, is a process to which one must be apprenticed. Sprinkled with choices that are challenging and sometimes heartbreaking to accept, the ordeal of "letting go" of a loved one can nevertheless be softened and humanized, whether through a cherished final moment spent together or by a soothing exchange that effaces regrets. This film proposes to demystify this process and to "make the invisible visible." This gesture is all the more essential considering that sanitary measures imposed over the last years saw the doors of CHSLD closed to visitors, cutting them off from almost all contact with their loved ones inside. François Delisle is sharing his journey notably with these people who have been unable to access their own elders. In this way, his visits, observations, and words exchanged–what he had the privilege of living and of "capturing," both in his memory and with his camera–may resonate in the hearts and souls of those who were deprived of such encounters themselves.

Rachel Brousseau
Editorial Assistant, Frontières journal