SYNOPSIS
A man learns his mentally ill brother has signed a do-not-resuscitate order forcing him to choose whether or not to save his brother’s life against his will.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
A few years ago, my 40-year-old brother asked me to take him to Switzerland to be ethically euthanized after decades of suffering from severe mental illness. He wasn’t eligible, but going through the process together still haunts me today. Now, whenever I receive a suicide note over text and those three dots bounce across my phone screen as I call for help, I’m forced to question whether or not I’m genuinely doing the “right” thing. As Canada prepares to legalize ethical euthanasia for people with terminal mental illness, and my brother makes plans to participate, this film is an exploration of my conflicted feelings on this taboo subject. I’ve sought to capture a caregiver’s experience of guilt, psychological trauma, panic attacks, and PTSD with empathy while portraying the anxiety and isolation I’ve felt every time I’ve had to make a life-or-death decision. As Nabil ruminates, recreates, and fantasizes, viewers enter his liminal space as they’re overwhelmed by the sense-memory that drives him to respect his brother’s agency over his life. Through this loving portrait of brotherhood under duress, I hope the film challenges audiences to examine their ethical position on this topic through a lens of compassion. Audiences may not agree with Nabil’s decision, but I hope they will come to understand how someone could make this impossible choice.