
North American Premiere
A right-to-die evangelist must wrestle with his faith and morality when his latest client turns out to be not what she claimed. Moral dilemma stories can be difficult to get right in a short film format, but this two-hander is blessed with veteran actors who really enhance a tale about difficult choices. Toby Jones (Infamous, Hunger Games) gives a powerful, understated performance as a man of faith, and Claudie Blakley (Pride and Prejudice, Gosford Park) shines as an anxious but committed woman in her last throes. The first half is a quiet setup before uncomfortable truths force the ethical question in this somber, moving, and original story on the desperation of living and the relief of dying.
Community Partner
Toby Jones, Claudie Blakley
UK
2021
English
Featured in:

International Shorts: Morality Plays
Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Certain Women
Spare, incisive portraits of four Montana women (Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone) brushing up against the everyday wears and tears of difficult men, their own circumstances, and the desire for something better.
Samia
Despite growing up in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the civil war, Samia Yusuf Omar persists in her dream of becoming an Olympic athlete and competes in Beijing, 2008 -- with London, 2012 next on her agenda. Based on a true story.
Little Big Man
Dustin Hoffman ages a century in Arthur Penn's epic picaresque anti-western, the tall tale of 121-year-old Jack Crabb, a white man rescued and raised by the Cheyenne, a one-time snake-oil salesman, gunslinger, and mule skinner under General George Custer.
Sudan, Remember Us
A portrait of young artists and activists, Meddeb's doc charts events in Khartoum between 2019 -- in the immediate wake of the revolution that deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir -- and the mood four years later, when the country has been torn apart by civil war.
Credits
Executive Producer
Brett Payne
Producer
Sarah Beardsall, Elliot Barker
Screenwriter
Paul and Simon Wade
Cinematography
Donna Wade
Editor
Simon Wade
Production Design
Guy Thompson
Original Music
James Mabbett
Director

Paul and Simon Wade
Paul and Simon Wade are British writers, directors, and brothers. They started out making horror films in the woods with a DV camera and a cast and crew of unwitting family members. Since then, they have grown up slightly, and now work across narrative fiction, drama, and comedy. Their films have been commissioned by Sky and the BFI and played at festivals internationally including Beijing, Moscow, and London.