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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.