Happy Pills
Switzerland, 2022, 94'
A gay young man takes prophylactic pills against HIV; a depressed Valaisan who keeps staying in mental institution takes antidepressants and anxiolytics; a farmer from Niger takes strong painkillers to avoid fatigue; a teenager from Massachusetts takes Adderall to fight her attention deficit disorder; a young Amerindian woman from the Peruvian amazon is injected with a contraceptive to avoid the umpteenth unwanted pregnancy; a French intellectual suffering from pancreatic cancer decides to resort to assisted suicide in Switzerland.
The film records the work done over five years by photographer Paolo Woods along with journalist Arnaud Robert during a journey all over the world in search of the “happy pills,” drugs that offer answers to grief and depression, to fatigue, desire, and death itself. Beyond philosophy and religion, beyond the need of a time that heals all wounds, chemistry offers the most perfect metaphor for the desire of being saved, and quickly, that characterizes our society and the times we live in. A Promethean society in which youth, efficiency, performance, and overcoming one’s limits are elevated to a creed.
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 05 Nov 2022
- Time: 13:30
Location
- Cinema La Compagnia - Via Camillo Cavour, 50/R, 50121 Florence
Location 2
- www.mymovies.it
Organizer
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Arnaud Robert, Paolo Woods
Arnaud Robert is a Swiss journalist, director and writer. His work has been published in National Geographic, Le Monde, Le Temps, La Repubblica, Néon, Les Inrockuptibles, and Vibrations. His most recent medium-length film Gangbé! (2014) was selected in 2015 in the official competition at Visions du Réel. Paolo Woods is a Canadian-Dutch photographer based in Florence. His focus is on long-term projects that combine photography with investigative journalism. Time, Le Monde, The Guardian, National Geographic regularly publish his photographs. He is also the recipient of two World Press Photos awards.
