Laura’s Choice ABC Broadcast Dates Announced with Exhibition to Open this Week.
Western Australian Documentary Laura’s Choice will be broadcast in two parts on...
Western Australian Documentary Laura’s Choice will be broadcast in two parts on the ABC, commencing this Wednesday 17 March at 8:45pm.
Laura is eccentric, outspoken, feisty and 90 years old. After deciding she wanted to end her life on her own terms, she asked her daughter Cathy and granddaughter Sam, both filmmakers, to film this journey.
Laura’s Choice will expose and explore complex and often taboo questions as three generations of women travel into uncharted territory and navigate a radical approach to dying.
The moving and personal feature length documentary has already started to make its impact with audiences feature length documentary premiered at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in December 2020, and most recently screened to a sold out audience at the WA Made Film Festival on the weekend.
Director and Producer Sam Lara explained, “This film was incredibly difficult to make, and after 9 months in the edit suite I am certainly relieved that it’s finished. But it’s also been an incredibly rewarding experience hearing people’s reception to my grandma’s story. My big hope is that young people who watch the film are encouraged to engage in meaningful conversations with their parents and grandparents about death, and begin to prepare for that experience.
She went on to say, “Death doesn’t just have to be sad, it can also be celebratory, it can be cathartic and it can even peaceful. My grandma wanted to start a conversation about end of life choices for the elderly, and I hope this film does that wish justice.”
To coincide with the ABC Broadcast, an exhibition will also open at Edith Cowan University’s Spectrum Project Space in Mount Lawley.
The film’s co-creator Dr. Cathy Henkel, “While there have been films about assisted suicide over the years, my mother’s story is different. She was 90 years old, feisty and outspoken and was not suffering from a painful terminal illness. This raises a host of challenging ethical, social and legal questions which are further explored in an exhibition running alongside the broadcast of the film, entitled Conversations around the Kitchen Table.”
She continued, “The exhibition includes photographs, quotes, extracts from the film and a series of short interview clips with people representing divergent voices and opinions on death and dying. They are designed to encourage thought and reflection on an issue that touches us all. There is also an opportunity to complete a survey aimed at furthering research on the topic. My mother’s parting wish was that the documentary, the exhibition and the survey would spark conversations around kitchen tables across the country. She also wanted to challenge the notion that death should be a sombre and traumatic experience. She wanted her final days and her death to be a joyous celebration.”
Willie Rowe, CEO of Screenwest said, “Laura’s Choice is an exceptional example of high-quality Western Australian impact documentary filmmaking at its finest. Screenwest was pleased to support the development and production of the film, which explores one family’s journey with this incredibly sensitive and personal issue.”
For more information regarding the exhibition, or to engage in the discussion about the film follow the Laura’s Choice Facebook page.
The ABC broadcast starts on March 17 at 8.45pm. Seven short interview documentaries will also be available on ABC iView.
Episode 1: ABC TV Plus, Wednesday 17 March 2021 at 8.45pm
Episode 2: ABCTV Plus, Wednesday 24 March 2021 at 9pm
Both episodes, plus seven mini documentary interviews, will be available on ABC iView from 17 March 2021.
Laura’s Choice was produced in association with Factor30 Films and with support from Screenwest and Lotterywest, ABC and Edith Cowan University.
Contact Screenwest
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E: info@screenwest.com.au
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