“How to Die: Simon's Choice” | Assisted Lab Film Series (Part 2)

The second film in the series Letzte Bilder: Sterbehilfe im Film, presented by Assisted Lab in collaboration with Kinok St. Gallen, was Rowan Deacon’s documentary How to Die: Simon’s Choice (2016).

At the heart of the film is Simon Binner, a successful businessman in his fifties whose life revolves around his family, his friendships, and an infectious enthusiasm for life. That life is fundamentally altered when he is diagnosed with an aggressive form of motor neurone disease (MND) and given no more than two years to live. Determined not to endure the disease's relentless physical decline until the very end, Simon turns to the Swiss assisted-dying organisation lifecircle, led by Dr Erika Preisig.

In this moving documentary, Rowan Deacon accompanies Simon and those closest to him on the final stage of his life. She gives him ample space to explain his reasons and convictions, while also capturing, with sobering immediacy, the rapid deterioration of his physical condition. Equally powerful are the deeply ambivalent and often anguished responses of his loved ones, including his wife Debbie, his mother, and his close friends. Set against the backdrop of the debate on assisted dying then taking place in the British Parliament, the film brings together a range of perspectives without passing judgement or taking sides. It offers a nuanced exploration of the tensions that can arise when an individual's desire for autonomy comes into conflict with the feelings and needs of those left behind.

Following the screening, Marc Keller discussed the film with Erika Preisig, a physician, assisted-dying practitioner, and advocate for the right to self-determination at the end of life.

https://www.kinok.ch/index/next-program/theme/857