Vital Signs (French: Les signes vitaux) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Sophie Deraspe and released in 2009.
[1] The film stars Marie-Hélène Bellavance 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 centre, while simultaneously juggling her casual relationship with musician Boris (Francis Ducharme).
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.
[3] The film premiered at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in October 2009.
[1] The film received three Prix Jutra nominations at the 13th Jutra Awards in 2011, for Best Film, Best Supporting Actress (Brassard) and Best Make-Up (Joan-Patricia Parris).