‘Moeders springen niet van flats’ by Elena Lindemans

The mother of documentary filmmaker Elena Lindemans struggled with severe psychological suffering. During her marriage to Elena’s father, the family – according to Lindemans – was terrorized for years by his mistress, who also had a child with him. Elena’s mother experienced anxiety, chronic stress, panic attacks, and physical tension. Eventually, the marriage ended. Elena’s mother was hospitalized multiple times and treated by numerous healthcare professionals. When she requested for euthanasia, this request was not considered by the doctors who believed it did not meet the legal criteria. For this reason, Elena’s mother decided to end her own life. She did this by jumping from a high-rise building in 2002. In the documentary Moeders springen niet van flats, Lindemans talks to residents of the building who still remember the suicide. She asks them about the impact the suicide had on them and shares her own feelings and thoughts. Additionally, Lindemans reminisces about the suicide with her sister and later partner Ed and speaks with several doctors about their considerations.

Through a personal story, the documentary portrays the dilemmas that can arise in decision-making regarding medically assisted suicide for psychological suffering. Elena’s mother’s general practitioner explicitly states that he was not ready in 2002 to cooperate with euthanasia for severe psychological suffering: he saw possibilities for improvement and also feared a confrontation with the judiciary. Now, he might have performed euthanasia. In contrast, a psychiatrist maintains the view that Elena’s mother did not meet all the criteria for euthanasia, as there were still treatment options available. Lindemans also powerfully shows the impact her mother’s suicide had on the residents of the high-rise who witnessed it. Their reactions reinforce Lindemans’ belief that solitary suicide is a distinctly undignified end of life: for the person committing suicide, their survivors, and accidental witnesses. She contrasts this with the dignified death she believes could have been possible if euthanasia had been allowed. The documentary serves as a denunciation of the fact that euthanasia for psychological suffering was granted in relatively few cases at the time the film was made, despite the possibility under Dutch law since 2002. Lindemans also conveyed this message during a parliamentary hearing in 2014, and in 2024 made a documentary series called Een goede dood (A good death). In this series, Lindemans follows six people who are severely suffering mentally and want to have control over their end of life.