Life After is an investigation into the whereabouts of Elizabeth Bouvia, whose request for medically assisted in dying in 1983 kicked off a debate that still rages today. The film is Reid Davenport’s follow-up to the 2022 Sundance film I Didn’t See You There and screens as part of the festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition. The film is also the first producer credit for Colleen Cassingham. Below, she talks about being challenged by her film’s subject matter, navigating conundrums of documentary ethics, and the overlapping crises in the industry. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2025Reid Davenport’s follow-up to I Didn’t See You There probes the intersection between disability rights and medical assistance in dying in relation to the case of Elizabeth Bouvia, who started a national conversation about the issue in 1983 that persists to this day. The film screens in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition. Don Bernier (Athlete A, An Inconvenient Sequel) served as the film’s editor. Below, he explains how working on Life After altered his view on the subject and connects the fine arts and experimental film that sparked his interest in film with documentary editing. See all responses to our […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2025Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? For me, the most significant day in the course of making this film was the very last day of production. We had planned a simple pick-up shoot to grab some b-roll of me doing research in my apartment in my role as filmmaker-investigator. Almost at the last minute, I decided I wanted to film […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2025