Michel Vaujour

Michel Vaujour, former thief and mobster, always chose making a break for freedom over a life behind bars, adventure over a life of submission. He has spent 27 years in prison, 17 of those in solitary confinement. He succeeded in carrying out amazing escapes with toy guns, worthy of a Hollywood script, including a daring helicopter breakout from the roof of a jail. He was finally released on parole in 2003. This documentary is an uplifting and universal story of a remarkable transformation. Michel Vaujour's greatest escape was not from jail but from himself. The liberation of the mind and ultimately, the soul. His isolation forced him to continuously confront himself. The reward has been self-enlightenment.

A veritable city within a city, La Santé—as it is known—is an unworthy old lady: unworthy of housing human beings. Located in the heart of Paris, it needs to get back on its feet, and its closure for renovations in early July 2014 provides an opportunity to reflect on its past. Here is a non-exhaustive portrait of this Parisian prison, whose very architecture sheds light on its history and how it operates.