A National Film Board of Canada production

As a surgeon’s daughter, she once roamed the hospital with wonder. Returning as a patient in adulthood, she encounters a medical system where machine precision has displaced the human touch. Using charcoal and paint on glass, filmmaker Carine Khalifé tells a personal story using art as a vehicle for memory, resistance and a quest for meaning.

A film from the Alambic program, the NFB French Animation Unit’s creative lab for emerging filmmakers.

#1

As a surgeon’s daughter, she once roamed the hospital with wonder. As an adult, she searches for the humanity that has been replaced by machines.

#2

An artist reflects on the medical system she knew during her childhood, now utterly transformed. A personal story, painted on glass, where human connection confronts mechanical precision.

I grew up in northern France, in Berck-sur-Mer, known as “the city of hospitals.” My father is a surgeon, and as a child, I loved going to the hospital with him: I watched and listened; I even liked the smells.

Hospitals have undergone a technological transformation in recent years, and I wanted to reflect on the role of humanity in this huge machine. (Does the need for efficiency distance people from their own hospital experience?)

In Hospital, with Love (Hôpital, mon amour), I worked with paint on glass and charcoal. Both are exacting techniques, but they enabled me to capture the tension between technology and humanity, between presence and disappearance—a duality we see in hospitals.

To represent architecture and technology, I used charcoal, a controlled yet fragile medium. Walls and machines deteriorate over time. Since our experiences can affect our perception of a place, I used an “optical” technique to distort the images with layers of grease.

To depict humanity, I used paint on glass—a fluid, elusive medium that’s difficult to tame. The painted body in a charcoal hospital. That’s the human in the machine.

I want us to remember that hospitals belong to us. They’re part of our communities. We must love and care for them just as much as they care for us.

Contact NFB publicist for high-resolution images for print.