EHT Interviews Film Directors Nicole Giguère and Isabelle Hayeur of “Prisons Without Bars”

“The characters in our film are whistleblowers who, like the canaries in the mines, send us a warning signal that we can no longer afford to ignore.”

As part of the EMF Medica Conference, Theodora Scarato, Executive Director of Environmental Health Trust, interviewedNicole Giguère and Isabelle Hayeur, the film directors of  “Prisons Without Bars.” This beautiful documentary weaves the story of people living with sensitivity to  chemicals and electromagnetic frequencies- Isabelle, Kathya, Jean-François, Sylvain and Jayden. 

“Our environment is saturated with chemicals and electromagnetic fields. The adverse effects of these massive exposures affect a growing number of individuals. A glimpse into the little-known world of environmental illness.”

English trailer for the film https://vimeo.com/386231258

To rent or buy the movie : https://vimeo.com/ondemand/prisonswithoutbars

PRISONS WITHOUT BARS Feature-length documentary, 75 minutes, 2019

Directors: Nicole Giguère et Isabelle Hayeur

Production: Pauline Voisard, Productions Triangle

Distribution: SPIRA

Our homes and cities are becoming increasingly saturated with chemicals. Electromagnetic fields are ubiquitous in our environment. The long-term effects of these massive exposures have never been measured. More and more people can no longer defend themselves against the multitude of small assaults that we experience every moment in our industrialized societies. They have contracted an emerging disease called «Environmental Hypersensitivity.»

In Quebec, this condition is not yet officially recognized by our health system, whereas it has been for several years in other Canadian provinces and in several countries. Nothing is put in place at home to diagnose and treat people with the disease, nor to prevent this condition, which can become very disabling.

With a proximity camera scanning their daily lives, we meet five characters. Isabelle is preparing to leave Montreal, where smog and fabric softeners in her neighbors’ dryers are making her sicker and sicker. We follow her as she moves to a small house in the forest. But any new house exudes many chemicals, and Isabelle will live a period of adaptation.

Kathya grew up on the military base in Valcartier, where she was continuously exposed to radars. She is now severely intolerant to electromagnetic waves. She is looking for a safe place to establish herself with other suffering people like her. Jean-François became intolerant to chemicals in contact with varnishes in his luthier workshop. His illness has recently spread to electromagnetic waves. This is a new adaptation for his wife and him because, for him to get healthier, the couple will have to make expensive changes in their little house. Runing out of resources, Sylvain lived on the street for two years in Montreal. This summer, he set up his tent on a friend’s field in the Laurentians, but the place is not ideal, he feels isolated and winter is coming . . . Jayden is 10 years old, he suffers many symptoms when Wi-Fi is used. School boards have not yet taken into account the growing number of children affected by the ubiquity of Wi-Fi in schools.

All over the world, health professionals and researchers are seriously studying these new pathologies. Some of them take stock of current knowledge about these types of diseases that modern medicine cannot explain or cure. Among them are Dr. Dominique Belpomme, oncologist and professor in Paris; Dre. Jennifer Armstrong, from Ottawa Environmental Health Clinic; Lise Parent, PhD, ecotoxicologist and professor at TELUQ; Dr. Barry Breger, physician with an integrative approach; Paul Héroux, PhD, Professor of Toxicology and Health Effects of Electromagnetism at McGill University; Stéphane Bélainsky, expert in electromagnetic hygiene. By addressing the environmental factors that affect us all, they open a door to broader questions about our public health policies, the commercial and economic pressures that influence our governments and our social lives, and the resistance to changes in mentality. 

The characters in our film are whistleblowers who, like the canaries in the mines, send us a warning signal that we can no longer afford to ignore.

https://ehtrust.org/eht-interviews-film-directors-nicole-giguere-and-isabelle-hayeur-of-prisons-without-bars/ Source: Environmental Health Trust