We picked up some awards this year! News Story of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Journalism at the Medical Journalists Association, National Awards, which we couldn’t have won without the trust and bravery of our incredible contributors. These are the people who let us into their homes at one of the most challenging times of life; in the approach to death, either themselves or one they love. For us to accurately document and illustrate what an assisted dying law means in practice to the individual, to society and to family and medical practice we couldn’t have done it without people like Wayne Hawkins and his family, or @autonomy_healthmd or indeed those for whom a law like this fills them with dread. We don’t do this kind of journalism to win awards… but it is rather nice to be recognised now and again. #bbciplayer #bbcnews @joshrfalcon #assisteddying #documentary #broadcastjournalism
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a Private Member’s Bill for England and Wales, sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. It has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is now being considered in the House of Lords. Our documentary, which came out in March, is there for those who would like to see what a law like this looks like in practice and what it feels like for those for and against it. #assisteddying #canada #california #bbciplayer #bbc #assisteddyingthefinalchoice
We travelled to North America to document what an assisted dying law means for society and for those at the end of life and for their families; what it does to the patient/doctor relationship and what a self administered assisted death - which will be the only option put forward in the assisted dying bill currently being debated in #Westminster UK - looks like in practice. Wayne Hawkins and his family invited us to film his self administered death in March in #sandiego. He was passionate that everyone should have this choice at the end of life and wanted the British public to see what it meant to him. Dr Donnie Moore @autonomy_healthmd facilitated and talked us through the process and we documented what happened. We couldn’t have been more honoured or humbled by them all. Forever grateful to Wayne and his family.
One of the most important jobs of the producer/director is to mitigate and manage all variable and dynamic potential distractions! 🫶🏽🐶 It’s a really tough part of the job. As well as keeping the team smiling and stealing @joshrfalcon ‘s really good bridge pics 😌
Few things I realised on this little leg of the trip… John Wayne has an airport, we shoot in some amazing locations (I did already know this), people really know how to live in #NewportBeach, my cameraman @joshrfalcon is paranoid and there’s a lot of topiary at #JohnWayne ‘s house. 👌🏽
We meet the most incredible people on these trips. Filming a #documentary looking at #assisteddying laws in jurisdictions where it’s legal in various forms brings you into contact with people at the end of life, families preparing to say goodbye and doctors who aim to facilitate a persons wishes in how they want to exit this world. We also meet those for whom a law like this makes them question humanity and fear for their own place in a society which permits such a system. So many incredibly insightful and profound voices I felt very honoured to gather. Assisted Dying: The Final Choice #bbciplayer #bbcdocumentary
The director’s chair of DREAMS 🙌🏼🫠 poor @joshrfalcon ‘Josh!’ Said in a screech… ‘film that cloud of mosquitoes! Do you see them?! And that water vapour from that there building!’ 😬😆
And just like that we left the snow storms behind in Toronto 🍁 and unpacked our bags and @joshrfalcon got the cameras out in #Berkeley, #SanFranciscobay ! 🙌🏼 #california
After a plane landing on its roof (no one seriously hurt!), 4 missed flights and two days in Toronto Airport trying to find our luggage we made it to #sanfranciscobay for the second leg of filming for Assisted Dying: The Final Choice #bbciplayer #documentary #behindthescenes
Nova Scotia…!!! Was… you may guess, rather nippy! 🥶 the pavements were literal sheets of ice (London would grind to halt) and if you scroll to the little vid at the end that is the snow storm I happily stood in to order a cab when we got back to the comparatively balmy #Toronto!! What an incredible place. #behindthescenes #documentary #bbciplayer #bbcnews #assisteddying #novascotia
We flew to #NovaScotia to interview an incredible woman, April, who plans to have a medically assisted death on the stage of her local theatre in #halifax when she feels she’s had enough of the intolerable pain she is in. One of many incredible people we were honoured to film along the way for Assisted Dying: The Final Choice for #bbciplayer
From hand held and sheltering in a nearby nail bar to mop the camera to improvising a live broadcast on a #Toronto roof top @joshrfalcon never ceases to overachieve. 👌🏽 And Fergus… you just wind him up and off he goes! #behindthescenes🎬 #documentary #bbciplayer #canada #toronto #assisteddying
