A Brush with Life

** Silver Apple Winner, 1997 National Educational Media Network Competition
** Best of the Festival, 1995 Hot Docs (Toronto)
** Special Jury Prize Winner, 1994 Festival du Films sur l’Art (Paris)
** Silver Plaque Winner, 1994 Chicago Film Festival
** Honorable Mention, 1994 Columbus Film Festival

“A Brush with Life paints a picture of hope… a harrowing but uplifting odyssey.” – Bill Brownstein, Montréal Gazette

“An exceptional document, an exceptional artist, her universe, her images… a world to discover!” – Francine Grimaldi, Montréal Radio Host

“An extremely moving and powerful film… it has an important message about values at a time when the whole country is debating the costs and direction of health care… It focuses on an area that is always overlooked, the healing power of human relationships.” – Glenys Vaughan, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital

“An evocative and powerful film.” – Canadian Art Therapy Association

“If I create I constantly overcome the difficulties of everyday life. It’s something essential to the being – to be creative.” – Diane

Filmed over two years, A Brush with Life is the compelling portrait of Diane, a gifted artist struggling to free herself from mental illness through an innovative art therapy program at the Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital, Montréal’s largest psychiatric hospital. The program led Diane out of a private hell. In her year spent working with therapeutic art specialist Suzanne Hamel, Diane discovered a way to cope with a multiple personality disorder brought on by a childhood of abuse. Diane’s struggle invites the viewer to question the delicate balance of the human condition. With haunting images and empathy, A Brush with Life chronicles an exceptional individual’s search for well-being.

Total Running Time: 50 minutes