''Vital Signs'' () is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Sophie Deraspe Sophie Deraspe (born October 27, 1973) is a Canadian director, scenarist, director of photography and producer. Prominent in new Quebec cinema, she is known for a 2015 documentary ''The Amina Profile'', an exploration of the Amina Abdallah Arraf ...

and released in 2009.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Signes vitaux, Les – Film de Sophie Deraspe"
''Films du Québec'', February 5, 2010. The film stars

Marie-Hélène Bellavance Marie-Hélène Bellavance is a Canadian artist, actress and dancer. Brian D. Johnson"Ivan Reitman warms up Whistler" ''Maclean's'', December 10, 2009. She is most noted for her performance in the 2009 film ''Vital Signs (Les signes vitaux)'', for w ...

as Simone, a young woman who responds to the death of her grandmother by abandoning her university studies to volunteer as a caregiver for the dying in a

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

centre, while simultaneously juggling her casual relationship with musician Boris (Francis Ducharme). The cast also includes

Marie Brassard Marie Brassard is a Canadian actress,Histoire du théâtre au Canada'. Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, University of Toronto; 1990. p. 158. theatrical writer and director. She is known for her work with playwright and actor Robert LepageNew Yo ...

, Suzanne St-Michel, Danielle Ouimet and

Danielle Fichaud Danielle Fichaud (born April 13, 1954) is a Canadian actress from Quebec. She is most noted for her performance in the 2021 film '' Aline'', for which she was a César Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress at the 47th César Awards and a Prix ...

. The film was noted for the casting of Bellavance, a double leg amputee, in a role where her disability was part of the fabric of the character's life but not the primary narrative focus of the story, as well as for depicting Simone as a character who still had a sexual life instead of the more common film portrayal of disability as a barrier to sexuality. The film premiered at the

Festival du nouveau cinéma The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of ...

in October 2009. It was subsequently screened at the

Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Awards, and the Pand ...

, where it won the

Borsos Competition The Borsos Competition is the main awards program for Canadian feature films screening at the annual Whistler Film Festival. The award is named in memory of Canadian film director Phillip Borsos. Introduced for the first time in 2004, the juried ...

for Best Canadian Feature Film and Bellavance won the award for Best Performance in a Canadian Film. It went into general theatrical release in 2010. The film received three

Prix Jutra Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...

nominations at the

13th Jutra Awards The 13th Jutra Awards were held on March 13, 2011 to honour films made with the participation of the Quebec film industry in 2010. Nominations were announced on February 9.Marc Cassivi"Soirée des Jutra: Incendies, favori d'un cru relevé" '' La Pr ...

in 2011, for

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

, Best Supporting Actress (Brassard) and Best Make-Up (

Joan-Patricia Parris Joan-Patricia Parris, sometimes credited as Jo Pat Parris, is a Canadian make-up artist. She is most noted for her work on the 2020 film ''Blood Quantum'', for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Makeup at the 9th Canadian Screen Awar ...

).Brendan Kelly, "Incendies leads Quebec film-award nods".

Postmedia News Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...

, February 9, 2011.

References

External links

* 2009 films Canadian drama films Films shot in Quebec Films set in Quebec Films directed by Sophie Deraspe French-language Canadian films 2000s Canadian films Films about amputees {{2000s-Canada-film-stub