Assisted Lab A Living Archive of Assisted Dying

Michael Haneke (director and writer)

Diagnosed with a severe, neurodegenerative condition, Anne steadily declines into a state near paralyses, leaving her entirely dependent on her husband, Georges, and the nurses he employs. Following ever-increasing pressures on Georges, he makes the snap decision to suffocate his wife, in what is presented as a mercy killing, calling us to question the definition of an assisted death.

Thea Sharrock (director), Jojo Moyes (writer)

Following a road traffic collision, Will Traynor is paralysed and in need of constant care. His parents employ a young woman, Louisa Clark, to care for their son and Will and Louisa strike up an unlikely friendship and, later, a romance. Despite Louisa’s efforts to persuade Will that his life is still worth living, he decides to travel to Switzerland to end his life.

Amanda Villegas

In this series of photographs, Amanda Villegas documents the final days in the life of her husband, Chris Davis, as he dies from bladder cancer. Although Chris wanted to access medical aid in dying, he was unable to do so because of misinformation and procedural requirements in California’s End of Life Option Act at the time of his death.

La Maison Simons, Broken Heart Love Affair

The advertisement All is Beauty depicts in a positive light the final days of a woman’s life prior to her choosing to receive an assisted death. It was, however, pulled after news reports revealed that the protagonist had been vocal about the lack of support for her illness, and how this influenced her desire for an assisted death.

Tim Wilson (director)

Griefwalker profiles Stephen Jenkinson as he leads a palliative care counselling team at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. The film is a meditation on grief, the fear of death, and the failure of palliative care to address this fear as patients near death.

Clint Eastwood (director and producer), Paul Haggis (screenwriter)

In this sports drama, Maggie Fitzgerald rises through the boxing ranks with the guidance of trainer Frankie Dunn and his long-time friend Scrap before becoming a quadriplegic from an injury sustained in a fight. The film garnered critical acclaim and won four Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, but drew criticism from disability rights activists for its portrayal of disability.

Peter Richardson (director)

This documentary follows the stories of a number of individuals in Oregon who have chosen to, or are considering, making use of the state’s death with dignity law. Through these stories, it paints the legalization of assisted suicide in an extremely positive light, demonstrating the gratitude and relief of individuals who can legally access medications which will end their lives.

Olivier Nakache (director and writer), Éric Toledano (director and writer), Philippe Pozzo di Borgo (writer)

Based on a true story, this film recounts the unlikely friendship between Philippe, a very wealthy, widowed quadriplegic, and his hired caregiver Driss, a young man living in Paris’ poorer suburbs. As they get to know and come to trust one another, each shows the other something of his way of life, rekindling in the process his respective sense of purpose and joie de vivre.

Chie Hayakawa (director and writer), Jason Grey (writer)

In a dystopian scenario, the Japanese government initiates Plan 75, and all citizens over 75 are given the option to be euthanized in exchange for 100’000 Yen to alleviate the socio-economic burden from an ageing population. The film follows elders and administrators of Plan 75 as they go through the steps of offering and accepting the plan.

Charlie Russell (director), Terry Pratchett (writer)

After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, renown author Terry Pratchett investigates in a television documentary the only assisted death option available to residents of the United Kingdom: travelling to Switzerland to seek the option through Dignitas.

Roger Mitchell (director) & Christian Torpe (writer)

Lily, the matriarch of her family, is diagnosed with ALS and takes the decision to end her life with the help of her spouse, Paul. The film follows her as she invites her family for a final weekend together in their beach home, where the different ways in which the family members deal with Lily’s planned death are shown.

Stop eutanásia

Through succinct scenes and tableaux, this short film produced by the Portuguese anti-euthanasia group ‘Stop eutanásia’ casts euthanasia as the antithesis to hope, encouraging viewers to ‘say yes to life.’ It was circulated on social media amidst increasing debates in Portugal about legalizing euthanasia in 2021.

Gaëlle Hardy (director and writer), Agnès Lejeune (director and writer)

Marking almost twenty years since the introduction of euthanasia in Belgium, this documentary provides insights from the office of Dr Damas, a physician responsible for assisted dying in a Belgian public hospital.

Denys Arcand (director and writer)

In the absence of adequate palliative pain relief and palliative care provision, Rémy begins taking heroin to combat his cancer-induced suffering. As his condition deteriorates, he decides that he wants to end his life. With the help of his family and friends, he is given an overdose of heroin and passes away peacefully with his family around him.

Alejandro Amenábar (director and writer), Mateo Gil (writer)

For almost thirty years, Ramón Sampedro has been paralysed from the neck down. Having had enough of his paraplegic state, Ramón decides that he wants to die and seeks the help of an assisted dying lobby group to generate support for his case. When all legal avenues fail, a small group of his friends help Ramón to end his life.

François Ozon (director and writer), Emmanuèle Bernheim (writer), Philippe Piazzo (writer)

Following a transient ischemic attack, André Bernheim, the father of novelist Emmanuèle Bernheim, asks his daughter to help him end his life. The film follows Emmanuèle and her sister, Pascale, as they come to terms with their father’s decision and try to navigate the complex legalities that surround assisted dying for French citizens in Switzerland.

Harry Macqueen

Tusker and Sam, romantic partners for over twenty years, face Tusker’s early onset dementia diagnosis by taking a road trip around the United Kingdom to visit their favourite places. All is well until Sam discovers that Tusker plans to end his life before he is dependent on others for his personal care.

Stéphane Brizé (director and writer), Florence Vignon (writer)

Following 18 months in prison, Alain goes to live with his elderly mother, who is living with cancer. Knowing that her cancer is progressing, Alain’s mother decides that she wants to end her life. Although he is initially sceptical, Alain decides to support her decision to end her life and travels with her to Switzerland, where their extremely tumultuous relationship is restored on her deathbed.

Ondi Timoner (director)

Ondi Timoner tells the story of her father, Eli Timoner, a former entrepreneur and founder of an airline, who chooses to end his life by medical assistance in dying under California’s End of Life Option Act.