Deanna and Gordon are lovers with dreams like the rest of us . . . an apartment, a job, and the chance to be together.
Deanna has learning difficulties and suffers from a bipolar disorder and severe diabetes. Gordon suffers from schizophrenia. After years spent in government psychiatric homes, they were deinstitutionalized and are now living in La Maison Chez Lise, a private 90-room boarding house on the outskirts of Montreal. They have no family, but at the home they have found stability and, in Lise Bisonnette, the feisty 70-year old owner, a surrogate mother.
After so many years dreaming, the reality of what it means to live with someone is quite different.
Their story is tender, frustrating and sometimes alarming, but love is all they have and for eight years they have fought institutions and obstacles to be together. Now comes the real struggle: making it work. All couples have their ups and downs, but for Gordon and Deanna they are especially steep . . . will they make it?
Chambres Chez Lise: pensions de famille et maisons de chambres:
www.pagesjaunes.ca/bus/Quebec/Longueuil/Chambres-Chez-Lise/2174162.html
Deanna has learning difficulties and suffers from a bipolar disorder and severe diabetes. Gordon suffers from schizophrenia. After years spent in government psychiatric homes, they were deinstitutionalized and are now living in La Maison Chez Lise, a private 90-room boarding house on the outskirts of Montreal. They have no family, but at the home they have found stability and, in Lise Bisonnette, the feisty 70-year old owner, a surrogate mother.
After so many years dreaming, the reality of what it means to live with someone is quite different.
Their story is tender, frustrating and sometimes alarming, but love is all they have and for eight years they have fought institutions and obstacles to be together. Now comes the real struggle: making it work. All couples have their ups and downs, but for Gordon and Deanna they are especially steep . . . will they make it?
Chambres Chez Lise: pensions de famille et maisons de chambres:
www.pagesjaunes.ca/bus/Quebec/Longueuil/Chambres-Chez-Lise/2174162.html
Deanna 1963 - 2014
It is with great sadness that we write Deanna died suddenly after a brain aneurysm on 6th June 2014.
Her gift of life was her organ donation which saved the lives of four people. We miss her - her phone calls, her humour, and her determination to try and change her life. She was honoured by the government of Canada in a ceremony in October for having donated her organs.
Chez Lise in Festivals
Chez Lise was in competition at Rencontres Images Mentales, Brussels, Belgium, 11 - 13 February, 2015 |
Chez Lise was in competition at the Festival International Cine-Video Psy de Lorquin, France, 9 - 11 June, 2015 |
Chez Lise was awarded First Prize in the Mental Health Section of Festival Image Sante, Liege, Belgium, 2014 |
Chez Lise played at the 32nd Cinamatheque Quebecoise, Montreal, Canada, 2014 |
Chez Lise was screened at FIDADOC, the Moroccan international documentary film festival, 2014 |
Chez Lise has been screened a the department of Film Studies in Dawson College, Montreal, Canada. |
Chez Lise was in competition at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Montreal, Canada, 2013 |
Chez Lise played at the 4emes Journees Cinema et Psychiatrie du Vinatier, Lyon, France, 2014 |
Chez Lise has been screened at the Beijing Film Academy, China
