The Suicide Tourist

The controversy surrounding active euthanasia has often placed the Netherlands at the centre of international debate. So far, people opting for euthanasia are mostly at the mercy of their governments' official position on euthanasia. Switzerland, however, offers a way out for those who want to end their lives legally and humanely and cannot do so in their own country. There, a lawyer named Ludwig Minelli who founded the Dignitas organisation. Though bound by strict regulations, Dignitas can also supervise the active euthanasia of foreigners. Although the patients using his institute are disparagingly branded suicide tourists in the press, Minelli is convinced that Dignitas reduces the number of violent suicides that are increasingly taking place, notably among elderly people. In The Suicide Tourist, director John Zaritsky chooses an unadorned TV format to depict the gripping story of two couples. The American Craig Ewert, a terminal patient bound to become progressively paralysed, dies on film. A still relatively healthy American couple living in Greece want to die in each other's arms, but Dignitas turns down their request. In the meantime, staff members of Dignitas explain what motivates them to do this controversial job. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)