NATHALIE BERGER
director & documentary cinematographer
Chagrin valley
Directed by Nathalie Berger

The sun shines every day in Chagrin Valley, USA. Frozen in a 1950s-inspired artificial decor, this assisted living facility for people who suffer from dementia is home to fragile and ageing residents. Here, everyday life drags on slowly. Florence and her companions dream of an elusive elsewhere during their days punctuated by confusion, fleeting conflicts and overdue family visits. The caregivers – as kind as they are exhausted – run the show in this pastel-coloured, sanitised social theatre. Between two shifts, they confess their desire for a better future; one that is not so different from that of the residents, after all. Examining our relationship with old age, illness and the universal fear of dying, and gently probing into the matter of our individual and collective dreams, the film interrogates the false promises of our contemporary society.
Year
Type
Length
Language
Production
Cinematography
Editing
Sound design
Music composition
Producer
Color Grading
Assistant Editor
2023
Feature Documentary
62 minutes
English
Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
Diara Sow
Lizi Gelber
Tihomir Vrbanec & Nina Uzelac
Valentin Liechti
Philippe Grob
Ralph Welti
Lars Wicki
awards
Prix du Cinéma Suisse / Schweizer Filmpreis / Swiss Film Award 2024 (Best Graduation Film)
Visions du Réel - Jury Prize in the National Competition 2023
Alexis Victor Thalberg Award 2023 (Main Prize)
Doc Boston Film Fesitval 2023 - Best Feature Documentary
Oslo International Film Festival 2023 - Best Feature Documentary
festivals
Visions du Réel 2023
Dok.Fest Munchen 2023
Doc Boston Film Fesitval 2023
FLiMM Film Festival, Paris 2023
Verzio Human Rights Film Festival 2023
Oslo International Film Festival 2023
Solothurner Film Tage 2024
One World Festival Prague 2024
press