Skip to content
Accessibility
Coping with Illness and Dying (44)
-
4 North AJordan Canning & Howie Shia 2020 10 minA woman sits in a hospital room, alone with her dying father. As the din of hospital noises pushes her to confront her inevitable loss, she escapes into a series of lush childhood memories. 4 North A is a celebration of the fleeting joys of life and a bittersweet reminder that we don’t always get the closure we seek. -
Bearing Witness: Robert Coley-DonohueDan Curtis 2003 1 h 30 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Robert Coley-Donohue a man living with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal degenerative neuro-muscular disease that strikes two in 100,000 people. The film follows Robert over the last 3 years of his life. His experience is arduous, but also filled with hope and healing. If, like Robert, we can face death with grace and the comfort of family and friends, then death will hold less fear.
-
Bearing Witness: Luke MelchiorDan Curtis 2003 51 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Luke Melchior (1973-2021) who, at 26, had already lived longer than most people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive wasting of the muscles. Knowing his life would be relatively short had made Luke feel an urgency about making a lasting contribution. Living independently, with the help of 3 homecare workers, he ran a web-based business selling outdoor gear, and chaired the board of the Disability Resource Centre in Victoria, BC, where he was a passionate advocate for the rights of the disabled.
Bearing Witness consists of 3 films, each approximately one hour long, on people with life-threatening illnesses. The series also profiles Jocelyn Morton, who died of liver cancer at 44, and Robert Coley-Donohue, who died of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 74. -
Caregivers - Episode Four: Pat and MollyDan Curtis 1997 49 minWhen she was a student nurse, Pat Tucker received training in bedside care. Today, she puts those skills to good use in caring for her mother. Molly, 95, is confined to her bed for most of the day and requires round-the-clock attention. Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Pat offers loving and conscientious care. Despite her nursing experience, she nevertheless feels exhausted by the incredible demands of looking after Molly.
Pat acknowledges the support of her family--especially her husband; she knows that without their help, she would be hard-pressed to carry on. At Molly's 95th birthday party, we see just how important this charming "wee soul" is to all the people who love her. Even if she's too frail to blow out the candles, Molly is still the link that keeps this family together.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies across Canada, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
When Molly eventually dies, Pat is devastated. But through her tears she is clear about one thing: she would do it all over again. "Memories," she says, "last longer than dreams." -
Caregivers - Episode Five: Paul and JeanDan Curtis 1997 50 minSometimes Paul Oliver has to laugh to keep from crying. He's placed his mother, Jean, in a nursing home that cares for Alzheimer's patients. With bewildered fellow residents constantly interrupting and Jean's own erratic behaviour, Paul finds it hard to have a quiet moment with his mother. Yet he knows that his company and attention are vital to her.
Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Paul is doing his best. Although he works full-time and lives an hour away, he still visits twice a week. Jean does not like the nursing home and she is often depressed. Her anger is vented on anyone near, including Paul. At other times Jean can be lucid and make Paul laugh with her sharp comments about fellow residents.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a 'how-to' series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
What Paul finds most difficult is his mother's increasing memory loss. He's aware that, in time, she won't remember him at all, and he's determined to make the most of his visits. As Paul says, 'I try to make her laugh. I try to make whatever length of time she has left enjoyable.' -
Caregivers - Episode One: Madeleine and RoseDan Curtis 1997 49 minMeet Madeleine Fergus. Like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, she is an ordinary person with extraordinary heart. For the last five years, Madeleine's life has been consumed by caring for her partially paralyzed mother, Rose. Madeleine took early retirement in order to care for Rose full-time. It's a job with long hours and little recognition. Yet despite the hardship and frustration, she finds caring for her mother naturally rewarding. When we first meet Rose in April, she is full of mischief. Although she is confined to a wheelchair, she likes to sing, go out, and get her hair done. By December, Rose is still able to help Madeleine decorate the Christmas tree. However, after battling a series of infections over the next six months, Rose deteriorates into total dependency. Madeleine, who makes do on two small pensions, must now seek more help from a system which can be difficult to access. Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses. To Madeleine, Rose is not only her mother but her best friend. When Rose dies, Madeleine's heart is broken but her spirit isn't. She knows she has no choice but to go on. As she says, "You've got to float with the tide."
-
ChiAnne Wheeler 2013 59 minThis feature documentary follows Canadian actress Babz Chula to Kerala, India, where she is to undergo treatment by a renowned Ayurvedic healer in an effort to manage her 6-year battle with cancer. The bare-bones Indian clinic at first disappoints, but Babz is uplifted as her condition seemingly shows marked signs of improvement following treatment and introspection. Returning home, however, it is revealed that her cancer has actually advanced. Amazingly, the irrepressible actress invites filmmaker Anne Wheeler to continue bearing witness to her journey into the unknown.
-
Caregivers - Episode Three: Kurt and ElizabethDan Curtis 1997 49 minThe strain of caring for his mother shows in the face of Kurt Weitz. He's alone, with no family available to help him provide the constant supervision she requires. Elizabeth, 88, suffers from a variety of illnesses, including Alzheimer's. Her dementia drains Kurt of all his energy. Even ordinary housework seems overwhelming.
However, like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, Kurt carries on. Just before Kurt's father died, he left his son simple instructions: "Take care of mum." For eight years, Kurt has been doing his best to respect his father's whishes--but as Elizabeth only gets worse, he clearly needs some relief.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a "how-to" series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
Elizabeth cared for Kurt most of his life, and this son's love for his mother is obvious. Yet when Elizabeth dies, he admits to a strong sense of freedom. Kurt's mixed feelings are in fact common to everyone who faces the emotional challenges of caregiving. As he says, "I hate to say it, but the relief off my shoulders is just tremendous." -
A Child Unlike Any OtherAnna Barczewska 2005 11 minIn this short documentary about autism, director Anna Barczewska examines the complex challenge of raising autistic children. Through the voice of Jan's devoted mother and the comments of specialists, the film offers an introduction to this neurological disorder that reduces one’s ability to communicate with the outside world.
-
Caregivers - Episode Two: Doris and TomDan Curtis 1997 50 minIn 1942, Doris and Tom Homewood vowed to honour each other in sickness and in health. Today, 54 years later, Doris is determined to keep the man she loves by her side. Doris insists on caring for Tom at home even though a massive stroke has left him unable to walk or speak. Despite her 78 years, she displays remarkable strength in feeding, bathing and transporting her husband from bed to wheelchair and back.
Doris has learned to accept the isolation that Tom's silence brings. However, like all of the heroes in the Caregivers series, she is still a vibrant person. Never away from Tom for more than an hour, she goes for walks, helps her daughter with the farm work, and feeds the horses.
Produced with the help of individual caregivers and community agencies, this is a 'how-to' series with soul. Shot over the course of a year, these five episodes immerse you in the joys and sorrows of providing care. The caregivers featured in the series are honest and open about their feelings--and their eloquent insights offer an assessment of our health-care system's strengths and weaknesses.
After a bout with pneumonia, Tom dies in hospital and Doris is left to cope with her loss. As she says, 'I guess it just takes time... but I'll get a hold. And I'll get there.' -
Doctors with HeartTahani Rached 1994 1 h 52 minTahani Rached’s powerful documentary enters the doors of an AIDS clinic in Montreal. We meet a group of dedicated doctors struggling to provide health care to their patients. This 1994 film explores legal and ethical problems surrounding HIV/AIDS and the struggle against fear, rumours and prejudice. It is still relevant today. In French with English subtitles.
-
Dark IntentMireille Dansereau 2000 51 minA poetic meditation by a man and a woman whose teenage son has threatened to end his lifee. What drives someone to that terrible extreme? In an effort to understand and demystify the phenomenon of suicide, the two parents search for answers within themselves. Their personal reflection is intercut with dramatic sequences, archival footage, animation, interviews and first-person accounts that look at suicide from an emotional, rational, cultural, social or medical perspective. Mireille Dansereau has made a sobering film that nevertheless expresses an abiding faith in life. In French with English subtitles.
-
Discussions in Bioethics: Happy BirthdayJefferson Lewis 1985 12 minOne of a series of short, open-ended dramas designed to stimulate discussion of values and ethics in relation to modern medical technology. A young couple's marriage is threatened over a decision as to whether the husband should accept a job researching poison gas for military purposes. The wife is adamantly opposed. Regardless of their decision, someone will take the job. Should one morally accept responsibility for the consequences?
-
For JohnDale Montour 2003 51 minThis documentary focuses on John Diabo, a cherished member of a tight-knit family in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake. In 1998, John, tortured by drug addiction for over a decade, ended his life at the age of 31. Through moving testimony and family photographs, this film tells the intimate story of his life… and death.
-
GriefwalkerTim Wilson 2008 1 h 10 minThis documentary introduces us to Stephen Jenkinson, once the leader of a palliative care counselling team at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. Through his daytime job, he has been at the deathbed of well over 1,000 people. What he sees over and over, he says, is "a wretched anxiety and an existential terror" even when there is no pain. Indicting the practice of palliative care itself, he has made it his life's mission to change the way we die - to turn the act of dying from denial and resistance into an essential part of life.
-
Universe Within - TokyoKaterina Cizek 2015 3 minAs Yoko loses control of her body to Lou Gerrig's Disease, she prepares for her future by learning to operate (through eyeblinking) a "proxy" robot that goes out into the world for her, when she can no longer leave her Tokyo apartment.
-
In My Own Time - Diary of a Cancer PatientJoseph Viszmeg 1995 45 minThis documentary tells the story of Joseph Viszmeg, an Edmonton filmmaker who was diagnosed with a rare form of adrenal cancer in 1991. Doctors gave him a year to live, but 4 years later Viszmeg is very much alive. This is his personal account of living with this disease.
-
Inhale ExhaleDanielle Sturk 2009 27 minThis short documentary filmed at Saint Boniface General Hospital, in Manitoba, focuses on the work of 2 women: Gisèle Fontaine, who helps women in childbirth; and Louise Saurette, who attends the dying. Birth and death, moments of transition that involve a transformative journey, have much in common. The midwife and the chaplain offer themselves as guides on the painful and essential path of letting go.
This documentary short was produced as part of the Tremplin program, which enables young Francophone filmmakers to make a first production in a professional context. -
Kenbe la, Until We WinWill Prosper 2019 1 h 23 minSet in the lush Haitian countryside as well as the icy landscapes of Quebec, Will Prosper’s documentary Kenbe la, Until We Win chronicles the inspiring journey of Alain Philoctète, an artist and activist who dreams of developing a permaculture project in his native country even as he fights an ongoing battle with cancer.
-
Labour of LoveDan Curtis 1998 44 minWalk through almost any neighbourhood, and behind one of those front doors you'll find a family caregiver. The numbers are staggering. Over 25 million North Americans are currently looking after elderly relatives with health problems.
Shot over an entire year, Labour of Love shows the human side of caregiving - the loving bonds, the frustrations and heartaches, the mundane tasks and the constant fatigue.
Labour of Love includes five intimate profiles of caregivers and their families. This special video takes us to the heart of what it means to be a caregiver, offering hope for everyone who is caring for a family member. -
Making Every Moment CountLeora Kuttner 2003 38 minDr Leora Kuttner, an award-winning filmmaker and an international expert in pediatric pain management, brings us this groundbreaking and comprehensive look at the emerging field of pediatric palliative care.
At the film's heart are five remarkable young people who speak with profound clarity and wisdom about being alive and their approach to death. Layering their stories with interviews, the film is a unique portrait of how families and professionals can come together during a highly emotional time to share in decision making, address fears of death and provide hope.
Dr Kuttner's films have been recognized by the Association for the Care of Children's Health, the Health Sciences Communications Association, and the National Council on Family Relations. -
My Healing Journey: Seven Years with CancerJoseph Viszmeg 1999 46 minThis documentary is about Edmonton filmmaker Joe Viszmeg and his battle with cancer. In 1991, Viszmeg was diagnosed with adrenal cancer and told he wouldn’t live through the year. Four years later, he made In My Own Time—Diary of a Cancer Patient. In My Healing Journey: Seven Years with Cancer, he tells the story of how he survived the roller coaster of a deadly disease. He died in 1999.
-
The Magnitude of All ThingsJennifer Abbott 2020 1 h 26 minJennifer Abbott’s new documentary The Magnitude of All Things merges stories from the frontlines of climate change with recollections of the loss of her sister, drawing intimate parallels between personal and planetary grief.
-
Moments of LifeSamuel-A. Caron & France Gallant 2020 20 minThe phenomenon of perinatal grief has largely gone unrecognized; parents who live through the experience frequently find themselves isolated, with no resources to support them. Co-directed by Samuel-A. Caron and France Gallant, Moments of Life breaks the silence on this sensitive subject. We follow a group of bereaved parents who organize to offer support in their region, driven by a determination to reduce isolation. This film is both a conversation-starter and a source of hope and inspiration.
-
The Measure of Your PassageEsther Valiquette 1993 29 minThis short film tells of two rugged journeys: that, autobiographical, of a young woman who learns she is harboring the AIDS virus; and that of the ancient Minoan civilization, wiped out by the greatest cataclysm in history. Today, the world is held hostage by a killer disease that is stealthier than a volcano, but it exacts the same price. Now, as then, some profound questions exist: How does humanity define itself? How do we measure our passage on this planet?
-
Memento MoriNiobe Thompson 2016 1 h 29 minWith remarkable access to Canada’s busiest organ-transplant hospital, this documentary brings viewers face-to-face with stories of life and death, and the impossible decisions that tragedy demands. From the very beginning to the final frame, filmmaker Niobe Thompson grips viewers in a relentless, emotional embrace and propels them from moments of unexpected joy to unbearable heartbreak.
-
MariePedro Pires & Robert Lepage 2014 25 minAdapted from excerpts of Robert Lepage's theatrical epic Lipsynch, this short drama profiles Marie, a jazz singer left with temporary aphasia following brain surgery. Memory gaps have robbed her of parts of her childhood, and she is particularly devastated by her inability to remember the voice of her father, who died when she was 12. Desperate, Marie searches through old home movies in an attempt to reconstruct the voice and words of the father she loved so deeply. Marie grasps at anything she can find to hear the sound of his forgotten voice, but it is only at the end of this process, and in the most unexpected of places, that she will finally hear its echo.
-
My Heart AttackSheldon Cohen 2015 13 minThis animated short from Sheldon Cohen (The Sweater) tells the true story of a "nice Jewish boy with Buddhist inclinations" who suffers a heart attack. At the crossroads of documentary and animation, the film combines wry humour and philosophical musings to show that, sometimes, what feels like the end is really only just the beginning.
-
No Evidence of DiseaseAndrea Kalin 2012 1 h 25 minNo Evidence of Disease, the words every patient dreams to hear, interweaves the harrowing experiences and remarkable courage of women, devoted families, and dedicated doctors. As music and medicine join forces in the fight for life, the surgeons are transformed into rising rock stars, and their patients and loved ones jump on the bandwagon, infusing the struggle for survival with heart, hope and Rock 'n' Roll.
-
Perfecting the Art of LongingKitra Cahana 2021 12 minCut off from his loved ones due to the pandemic lockdown, a quadriplegic rabbi in a long-term-care facility is filmed remotely by his daughter. Offering powerful meditations on love and hope, Perfecting the Art of Longing shows us what it means to be alive in a state of profound isolation.
-
Pink Ribbons Inc.Léa Pool 2011 1 h 37 minPink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," has been hijacked by a shiny, pink story of success.
-
Reflections on SufferingMalca Gillson 1982 20 minIn a moving conversation with Dr. Balfour M. Mount, friend, colleague and treating physician, cancer victim Jean Cameron, a one-time volunteer social worker in the Palliative Care Unit of Montréal's Royal Victoria hospital, discusses how she has come to terms with her own illness and the perspective it has given her on the meaning of life. What she has to say is relevant to all. The depth of her insight and the grace of her being leave viewers moved and open to thinking more carefully about the meaning of their own lives.
-
SessionsDanic Champoux 2012 1 h 24 minCan we fight or even overcome cancer in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility? Filmmaker Danic Champoux believes so and in his documentary, Sessions, he dispels many of the clichés associated with the disease, using empathy and humour to reveal the extraordinary resilience of human beings.
Shot over the course of a year in the common room of an oncology centre, where patients regularly meet when undergoing chemotherapy, the film invites viewers to look at cancer from a new perspective. Sessions chronicles the patients’ intensely emotional encounters, deftly capturing the love and joie de vivre that brighten their often stressful days. Never denying the distress of cancer patients, and that of their families and friends as well, Sessions is, above all, a work of deep humanity and a sensitive portrait of life’s mysteries. -
Shannon AmenChris Dainty 2019 14 minTRIGGER WARNING: This film contains the following subject matter: Suicide and self harm.
If you are affected by the topics addressed in the film, we encourage you to reach out to someone you trust.
Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide. -
Surviving Death: Stories of GriefElizabeth Murray 1998 47 minThis short documentary profiles a variety of individuals and families who have dealt with the death of a loved one. These people—parents, children, siblings, partners, friends—candidly share their experiences of negotiating a new relationship with life after losing a loved one. Hailing from different cultural backgrounds, the people in this film hope their stories will allow others to begin expressing and understanding their own grief. They speak about the pain and powerful emotions they have experienced, about their need to reassess values and relationships after a death, and about the ways they have found to survive their loss. Recognizing that there is no single or easy path to recovery, this film can act as a thorough, sincere, and helpful resource for those in grief.
-
The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of LifeYukari Hayashi & Barrie McLean 1994 45 minThis two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people's views of life and death. A Way of Life contains footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder. The Dalai Lama explains his own feelings about death, while other scenes within a palliative care hospice in San Francisco depicts the use of the texts to counsel dying AIDS patients. This film, by revealing ancient teachings on how to think about death and dying, can be a valuable source of counsel and comfort.
-
ThanadoulaRobin McKenna 2020 6 minTwo sisters entwined by love. When Annie disappears, her younger sister, Natalie, seeks her out in an unconventional way: as a thanadoula, accompanying the dying in their final stages. Between their slow and final breaths, Natalie finds a bridge between life and death and, ultimately, a pathway to her sister.
-
Uncle Bob's Hospital VisitJoDee Samuelson 2008 14 minWhen unexpected illness lands Uncle Bob in the hospital, he's transported from his safe and familiar surroundings to a foreign and chaotic new world. As his stay lengthens, his spirits and health decline until his former life is just a distant memory. It takes a special visit from a special visitor to motivate him to get well. This animated short is a charming look at the importance of cheer, hope and love in the healing process.
-
UnmotheredMarie-France Guerrette Dempsey 2018 1 h 12 minOn August 31, 1995, tragedy struck the Guerrette family when Mona, a mother of two, died from breast cancer at age 42, leaving behind a husband and their daughters, Mylène and Marie-France. But she also left behind a stirring farewell message that would serve as a testament to her life.
-
Undertaker for Life!Georges Hannan 2022 52 minUndertakers are anything but gloomy; they’re funny, generous and dedicated. We would gladly go on vacation with them, but sadly, they never have any dead time.
-
Vital BondsNiobe Thompson 2016 52 minCanada's organ donation rate is the lowest in the industrialized world – and every organ lost is also a life. For the first time ever on-screens, Vital Bonds gives viewers unprecedented access to the powerful real-life human stories of organ donation in Canada. Following a traumatic brain injury, the family of 28-year old athlete Matthew makes the decision to donate his organs. A two-week old baby girl named Harlow receives a donor heart from the far side of the continent. These are just some of the life and death stories covered with unflinching authenticity to show the lasting impact and major importance of organ donation in Canada.
-
The VigilChristine Chevarie-Lessard 2020 8 minMarguerite Paquin lives in a seniors’ home where 14 nuns from her religious congregation have succumbed to COVID-19. The film takes us from the grandeur of the landscapes of Côte-Nord, Quebec, where Marguerite has worked for 47 years, into the room where she sits confined today, finding a sort of liberation through prayer and unshakeable solidarity with her sisters who are suffering.
-
Why MeJanet Perlman & Derek Lamb 1978 9 minThis short animation illustrates the reactions of one individual whose doctor has just told him he will soon die. In a terse and sometimes humorous dialogue with his doctor, Nesbitt Spoon runs the gamut of emotions commonly experienced by people trying to deal with this devastating yet universal situation.
-
You Won't Need Running Shoes, DarlingDorothy Todd Henaut 1996 53 minIn this feature-length documentary, acclaimed filmmaker Dorothy Todd Hénaut chronicles a critical two-year period in the lives of her parents, Mildred and Bob Todd. The Todds, retired octogenarians, live a simple but full life by the river in rural Ontario until a sudden change in their health forces a change in their lives. Their old routine of tending the garden and visiting with friends is replaced by hospital stays and home care. And even though the couple’s tenderness and mutual care soften the reality of diminishing strength, Hénaut’s film reveals a gritty, sensitive look at the human aging process.
