Backdrop fallback

Documenting Death

Documenting Death

Share

Documenting Death

2021

0h 11m

0.0(0 votes)

Documentary

Overview

When Kim Acquaviva’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, the couple decided to share the day-to-day realities of her slide toward death that doctors can’t always provide.

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

Production Companies

The New Yorker Studios

The people behind it

Cast & crew

Creative team

Directed by: Sara Joe Wolansky
Produced by: Sara Joe Wolansky

Similar Movies

George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing

George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing

Carlin returns to the stage in his 13th live comedy stand-up special, performed at the Beacon Theatre in New York City for HBO®. His spot-on observations on the deterioration of human behavior include Americans’ obsession with their two favorite addictions - shopping and eating; his creative idea for The All-Suicide Channel, a new reality TV network; and the glorious rebirth of the planet to its original pristine condition - once the fires and floods destroy life as we know it.

Séances

Séances

Can cancer be fought in a climate of relative serenity? Filmmaker Danic Champoux believes so, and he attempts to demonstrate it in this feature-length documentary, which shows the activities of an oncology center and the patients who regularly attend chemotherapy treatments.

Heaven

Heaven

A series of interviews are conducted concerning people's beliefs towards the possibility of an afterlife. The interviews are filmed against a set of strange backdrops, and are intercut with clips from classic films and a variety of stock footage.

Delírios – Filosofia e Reflexão no Túnel da Morte

Delírios – Filosofia e Reflexão no Túnel da Morte

Since discovering cancer, Omar has lived with pain, the imminence of death, uncertainty about the future and the suffering of his family. The documentary is a punch in the stomach, a plea for help and a breath of hope for those who battle the disease.

Dignitas - Death on Prescription

Dignitas - Death on Prescription

Switzerland is the only country in the world that allows foreigners to come and die on its territory. Since its founding in 1998, more than a thousand people have traveled to Zurich to end their lives with the help of the organization Dignitas. "Dignitas - Death on Prescription" is a documentary about an organization that provides people with terminal and incurable illnesses, intense unrelenting pain, and depression with a peaceful death. The organization's founder, lawyer Ludwig Minelli, is often the target of insults, especially from politicians, despite the fact that most Swiss citizens support the option of medically assisted suicide.

The Art of Grieving

The Art of Grieving

After the untimely death of his 35-year old brother, an artist explores the questions that surfaced from grief by painting 365 paintings and to spur conversation in culture.

First Things and Last Things

First Things and Last Things

Upon suddenly learning of her imminent death, Jacqueline von Kaenel begins to search for the key to her life. Unsparingly, she looks back and discovers how everything is connected; her youth in Franco’s Spain with her mother’s feudal past in eastern Prussia, her desire for music with the one for a dominant and powerful husband. In her ambition to be a perfect mother, she recognizes her fight for identity. But all of a sudden experiences from her childhood in a seemingly happy family crop up turning everything upside down.

Alzheimer's: Every Minute Counts

Alzheimer's: Every Minute Counts

Alzheimer's: Every Minute Counts is an urgent wake-up call about the national threat posed by Alzheimer's disease. Many know the unique tragedy of this disease, but few know that Alzheimer's is one of the most critical public health crises facing America. Because of the growing number of aging baby boomers, and the fact that the onset of Alzheimer's is primarily age-related, the number of Alzheimer's case is predicted to skyrocket in the United States. This will not only be a profound human tragedy, but an overwhelming economic one as well. Due to the length of time people live with the illness and need care, it's the most expensive medical condition in the U.S. Future costs for Alzheimer's threaten to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and the life savings of millions of Americans.

Papa

Papa

Filmmaker Jon Alpert turns the camera on his own family in this intimate portrait of his aging father. As illness and declining vitality reshape his life, the film captures a deeply personal struggle with dignity, humor, and the bonds that hold a family together.

Prognosis: Notes on Living

Prognosis: Notes on Living

When filmmaker Debra Chasnoff faces stage-4 cancer, she turns her lens on herself and the disease. What emerges is a portrait of her extended LGBTQ family —a story about hanging on while letting go.

Tukdam – Between Worlds

Tukdam – Between Worlds

Most of us think of death as something clear-cut, and that medical science has it neatly figured out. This feature documentary explodes such assumptions through its exploration of a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree. In what Tibetan Buddhists call tukdam, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation; remarkably, their bodies remain fresh and lifelike, without signs of decay for days, sometimes weeks after clinical death. Following ground-breaking scientific research into tukdam and taking us into intimate death stories of Tibetan meditators, the film juxtaposes scientific and Tibetan perspectives as it tries to unravel the mystery of tukdam.

Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche

Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche

Thomas Haemmerli is about to celebrate his fortieth birthday when he learns of his mother's death. A further shock follows when he and his brother Erik discover her apartment, which is filthy and full to bursting with junk. It takes the brothers an entire month to clean out the place. Among the chaos, they find films going back to the 1930s, photos and other memorabilia.

Memory Books

Memory Books

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

Danny

A moving personal documentary about Danny, a friend of Kybartas who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1986. This powerful work explores the reason for Danny’s return home and his attempts to reconcile his relationship with his family members who had difficulty facing his homosexuality and his imminent death.

Flashy Funerals

Flashy Funerals

For most of us a funeral is traditionally a modest, somber affair, but there are some families who are prepared to go above and beyond to ensure their loved ones go out in style. Warm, funny and surprising, this film explores some of the UKs most extraordinary final goodbyes.

The Cove

The Cove

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

The Bridge

The Bridge

The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.

Faces of Death

Faces of Death

A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV material to homemade super 8 movies.

You Before Me

You Before Me

How well do we really know our parents? And their youth? Do we simply have a vague idea of who they are, and were, before they had us? Cécile embark on a quest to discover truths about her mother and her youth, truths that can't be found elsewhere, than right where it all happened. Southern France. The project is a self-inventory, and an attempt to understand the complexity of parenthood and the dynamics between mother and daughter.

Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me

Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me

Facing the biggest challenge of his life, Sir Chris Hoy opens up about his journey with terminal cancer and how the mental strength he honed as a six-time Olympic gold medallist is now helping him to inspire others. Drawing on his Olympic career, Chris reconsiders his purpose and how he will choose to live with cancer – turning his focus towards raising awareness and inspiring others. The story follows Chris from the early stages of planning a brand new cycling event through to being joined by friends, including Sir Andy Murray, for the end result in Glasgow: the Tour de Four, a bike ride with the ambition to raise one million pounds for charity and show fellow sufferers that it’s possible to stay active throughout their treatment.

Recommended Movies

Come See Me in the Good Light

Come See Me in the Good Light

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Heart of a Dog

Heart of a Dog

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

My Mom Jayne

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Love, Marilyn

Love, Marilyn

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

A Toxic Love Story

A Toxic Love Story

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Robin's Wish

Robin's Wish

The final word in the story of what really happened to Robin Williams at the end of his life, focusing on his fight against a deadly neurodegenerative disorder known as Lewy body dementia.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley

Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.

Val

Val

For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood's most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors, has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.

Looking for Richard

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

McQueen

McQueen

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

For the Love of Spock

For the Love of Spock

The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

Seven Up!

Seven Up!

A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

Gilbert

Gilbert

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye

Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

Harmontown

Harmontown

A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.