Death & Dying


50 FEET FROM SYRIA
50 FEET FROM SYRIA

2016  Short Films  Peace & Conflict  Disabilities  Medicine  Middle Eastern Studies  Death & Dying 

A gripping and timely snapshot that provides a glimpse into the plight of Syrian refugees, 50 Feet from Syria uncovers the humanitarian efforts of a Syrian-American orthopedic surgeon who travels to the Turkish border to volunteer to operate on victims of the civil war.

JOANNA
JOANNA

Eastern Europe  Family Relations  Health  Death & Dying  Women's Studies  2015  Academy Award Winners & Nominees  Short Films  Medicine  Directed by Women 

2015 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Joanna is a tender and heartbreaking portrait of a young wife and mother facing terminal cancer who, wishing to leave something behind for her eight-year-old son, begins writing an online journal that resonates with and becomes embraced by millions of devoted readers.

KILLING TIME
KILLING TIME

Criminal & Law  African-American Studies  Death & Dying  2014 

Neither advocating for the death penalty nor against it, Killing Time is a devastating investigation into the futility of taking a life - both a murder and a state sanctioned execution. It is an honest look at the private, logistical and business-as-usual aspects of capital punishment in today's America.

PRISON TERMINAL: the last days of private jack hall
PRISON TERMINAL: the last days of private jack hall

Short Films  2014  Academy Award Winners & Nominees  Psychology & Psychiatry  Health  Death & Dying  Criminal & Law  American Studies  Aging / Gerontology  African-American Studies 

2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Prison Terminal is an extraordinary chronicle of death and dignity behind bars, an incredibly moving story of a terminally ill prisoner's final days and the hospice volunteers (prisoners themselves) who care for him. Issues surrounding America's aging prison population and the profound impact hospice programs can have on the lives of the incarcerated are explored in this remarkable film.

BEYOND BABYLAND
BEYOND BABYLAND

2010  Women's Studies  Urban Studies  Sociology  Health  Family Relations  Economics  Death & Dying  American Studies  African-American Studies  Medicine 

Beyond Babyland seeks to understand the causes behind the troubling rate of infant mortality in African-American communities while introducing us to the people and organizations working tirelessly to turn around this tide.

THE ANGELMAKERS
THE ANGELMAKERS

Women's Studies  Alcohol & Drug Abuse  Aging / Gerontology  Eastern Europe  Death & Dying  Criminal & Law  Sociology  Psychology & Psychiatry  Directed by Women 

In a sleepy Hungarian village, after the First World War, a series of arsenic murders took place. Over 140 bodies were discovered. The victims, all men, were apparently killed by their wives.

BURIED IN THE BACKYARD
BURIED IN THE BACKYARD

Psychology & Psychiatry  American Studies  Terrorism Studies  Sociology  Death & Dying  Directed by Women 

Since 9/11, American preoccupation with personal security has reached proportions not seen since the Cold War. In this film, we meet regular Americans preparing for the next terrorist attack.

A BRIEF PEACE
A BRIEF PEACE

Death & Dying  Middle Eastern Studies  Islamic Studies  Psychology & Psychiatry  Cultural Studies  Sociology 

Revealing an aspect of Iranian society rarely exposed to the West, filmmaker Ata Hayati brings his cameras to Behesht Zahra, Tehran's biggest cemetery, to witness Iran's distinctive culture of death.

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VIEW FROM THE INSIDE: YOU'RE NEVER OVER LOVE

Psychology & Psychiatry  Health  Disabilities  Death & Dying  Aging / Gerontology  Directed by Women 

In Just Ordinary Days, Cindy, a 47-year-old woman with terminal cancer, discussed her imminent death. Three years later, the people closest to her present the next chapter in her story. Supported by health-care professionals and members of the clergy, Cindy’s family members and friends talk about what her loss has meant to them, how they are coping with that loss, and how they have found ways to keep her in their lives.

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TO LIVE TO BE 140

Latin-American Studies  Death & Dying  Cultural Studies  Anthropology  Aging / Gerontology  Sociology 

This video features an interview with Dr. Alexander lief, a gerontology specialist at Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital, who discusses his on-location study of the people living in the Andean village of Vilcabamba in Ecuador.

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THE DAY OF THE DEAD

Cultural Studies  Death & Dying  Latin-American Studies  Religion & Spirituality  Spanish Language 

This documentary examines one of the most significant holidays on the Mexican calendar, showing how it is celebrated today and tracing its historical background, which goes back 3,000 years.

VIEW FROM THE INSIDE: JUST ORDINARY DAYS...PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON LIVING AND DYING
VIEW FROM THE INSIDE: JUST ORDINARY DAYS...PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON LIVING AND DYING

Health  Death & Dying 

Cindy, Fred, and Clara, along with their family members and health-care and hospice professionals, openly discuss common issues surrounding death, including fears, denial, and avoiding the topic, and dying people themselves, altogether.

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THE MAGIC OF NIGERIA

Sociology  Performing Arts  Death & Dying  Anthropology  African Studies 

This video explores the vitality of ancient African traditions regarding the links between life and death.

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KEEP THE PARTY GOING: IRISH WAKES

Anthropology  Death & Dying  Irish Studies  Psychology & Psychiatry 

This video explores the Irish tradition of 'waking the dead,' when an all-night vigil is maintained at the home of the deceased the night before burial.

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PAUL JACOBS AND THE NUCLEAR GANG

American Studies  Death & Dying  Health  Media Studies  Political Science  Directed by Women 

Profiles the journalist and political activist who exposed the U.S. government's cover-up of the health hazards from low-level radiation, chronicling this scandal from atomic fallout contamination of soldiers during early tests in the Fifties and Sixties to problems facing nuclear industry workers today.

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HEALING STEPS

Dance  Death & Dying  Health  Performing Arts  Psychology & Psychiatry  Religion & Spirituality 

Profiling four artists who have had to cope with adversity, while persevering in their respective performing arts careers, this documentary celebrates the healing and restorative powers of music, dance and friendship.

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CHOOSING SUICIDE

American Studies  Death & Dying  Health  Psychology & Psychiatry  Sociology 

An emotionally compelling examination of NY artist and psychotherapist Jo Roman's pioneering work in developing a philosophy of "rational suicide" as a basic human right.

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COME FEEL THE WIND

Short Films  Death & Dying  Psychology & Psychiatry  Children & Young Adult  Directed by Women 

This short drama tells the story of Clara, a young girl who must learn to cope with painful emotions following the untimely death of her father.