Caring About Dying
Please note : this season finished in May 2015
As author Daniel Defoe pointed out in 1726 there are two absolutes to the human condition: death and taxes. That astute observation still stands the test of time.
But where taxes have got a lot of press - especially leading up to an election - death gets much less space for discussion. If it does, it is linked to exceptional cases that often involve debates about the right to die, or high profile instances like Terry Pratchett, who was very public about his Alzheimer's disease.
These instances help raise public awareness but outside of these peaks, and in the everyday of ordinary life, death and dying are usually a very personal and private affair. There is something melancholic in this privacy as death will affect us all some time or another.
So, is it possible to share and care more widely about the process of dying? How do we relate to death and dying within our own communities? Is it something we should simply leave to the professionals? These are some of the questions being explored in a major international conference on how communities care for one another, supporting those undergoing the experiences of death, dying and loss. The 4th International Conference on Public Health and Palliative Care is being held here in Bristol in May and professionals will be sharing practice and experience on these from across the world.
As part of a series of cultural events linked to the Conference Watershed will be screening this short season of films that exceptionally portray the realities and emotions brought on by death, and dying; from Fred Schepisi's Last Orders (Sat 9 May, 15:00), which shows the impact of the life of an individual on his family and friends as they remember him whilst going to spread his ashes; Michael Haneke's movingly honest Amour (Tue 12 May, 17:40), about an elderly couple dealing with the decline of one of them following a stroke, and the recent Oscar®-winning Still Alice (Fri 15 May, 18:00), which brought the consequences and realities of early on-set Alzheimer's to a wider cinema going public.
Each screening will be introduced by a professional from the palliative care community and will be followed by a discussion, so join us in this rare opportunity to explore death, dying, and kindness.
Ticket prices: £4.00 - £8.00.
