Zu Ende Leben

It is easy to plan life and suppress death. While consumerism and restlessness is prevalent in society, confronting loss and grief is increasingly shunned. Director Rebecca Panian wants to break this taboo. In Zu Ende Leben, she accompanied the 51-year-old Thomas, who suffered from a brain tumour, over several months. She also asked Swiss personalities, among others from the fields of culture, media, medicine and religion, to contemplate the subject of death. Thomas’ self-testimony and the reflections of the other protagonists, including Franz Hohler, Pedro Lenz and Kurt Aeschbacher, are distilled into an impressive collage. A film that deals with the death, but is bursting with life. (Zurich Film Festival)