In 1983, Elizabeth Bouvia, a young disabled woman in California, made headlines when she demanded the legal right to refuse food and end her life. Her request sparked a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the perceived value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom battles, Bouvia disappeared from public view — her fate unknown. In Life After, director Reid Davenport picks up her story with urgency and care, asking what happened to Bouvia and why her case still echoes today.
Winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award at Sundance, Life After blends intimate narration, archival media, and firsthand interviews to explore the collision between disability rights and assisted-dying policy in North America. Davenport, whose debut I Didn’t See You There premiered at Sundance in 2022, brings his participatory lens to a story that’s both personal and expansive. Profound and unflinching, the film confronts the discomfort society has with disability, reframing the right-to-die debate around the right to live — fully, safely, and with dignity.
Special Jury Award: U.S. Documentary Competition, Sundance 2025
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Michal Kaliszan, Ash Kelly, Teresa Castner, Rebecca Castner, Melissa Hickson, Dr. Ramona Coelho
USA
2025
English
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Carrie Lozano, Lois Vossen, Dawn Bonder, Daniel J. Chalfen, Marci Wiseman, James Costa, Meryl Metni
Producer
Colleen Cassingham
Cinematography
Amber Fares
Editor
Don Bernier
Original Music
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Reid Davenport
Reid Davenport makes documentaries about disability from an overtly political perspective. His first feature film, I Didn’t See You There (2022), was hailed by critics and won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, among other accolades. Reid was a 2017 TED fellow and named one of the “40 Filmmakers Under 40” in 2020 by DOC NYC. His work has been featured in outlets like NPR, PBS, The Washington Post, MSNBC, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Filmography: I Didn’t See You There (2022)
Insights
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Image: © The New York Times
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