Nicolas Philibert’s quietly compelling documentary Every Little Thing (La Moindre des Choses, 1996) follows patients and staff at the La Borde psychiatric clinic as they rehearse a summer play. Filmed with restraint, the film offers an intimate glimpse into the clinic’s non-hierarchical structure and therapeutic philosophy as shaped by Jean Oury and Félix Guattari. This screening is presented as part of Desire Is a Machine, curated by our Adjunct Curator Stephanie Berlangieri. Join us afterwards for Professor Ian Buchanan’s lecture What Is Schizoanalysis?
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Nicolas Philibert is a leading French documentary filmmaker, known for his sensitive observational style. The son of a film-theory lecturer, Philibert developed an early interest in cinema by attending his father’s classes. After studying philosophy at the University of Grenoble, he began his career as an assistant to directors, including René Allio and Alain Tanner. His early success came with His Master’s Voice (La Voix de son Maître, 1978), a documentary co-directed with Gérard Mordillat, based on interviews with big bosses of large French firms, which was widely discussed following its censorship. Philibert’s films explore a range of social and institutional contexts with care and nuance. In 2023, he was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlinale for On the Adamant (Sur l’Adamant).
Nicolas Philibert 'Every Little Thing' 1996.
