LAST DREAMS

Last Dreams confronts us with the probably most engrained taboo in our society: dying. An intimate and delicate exploration of the last months of the lives, loves and regrets of three women, from the moment they arrive at a hospice until they draw their last breath.

The film intimately follows 3 women during their last month of life, from the moment they arrive at their hospice until they are gone. Through them we explore what it really means to get to the end of life in our culture; we are with them when they deal with the most important remaining issues in their life; we are present when they find words to say ‘Sorry’ or ‘I love you’.

ESTEPHAN WAGNER

 

The Chilean/German documentary director Estephan Wagner studied theatre directing at the ‘International School of Image and Gesture’ in Santiago, Chile. In 1999 he moved to Germany to work as film AP and editor. Later he studied film editing at the Northern German Broadcaster NDR and edited several shorts films and documentaries. He then moved to France to work as editor and international correspondent for ‘ARTE’.

 

In 2007 he moved to London to study Documentary Direction (MA) at the National Film and TV school. His graduation film WAITING FOR WOMEN (ESPERANDO MUJERES) has won awards and honors at over a dozen international festivals including IDFA and Palm Springs.

 

After graduating from film school he directed THE FINISHING LINE, a documentary for Channel 4. His latest documentary LAST DREAMS is produced by Final Cut for Real, and supported by The Danish Film Institute. He currently lives in London and Copenhagen.

 

• Camden International Film Festival, USA 2013 (Cinemativ Vision Award) 
• CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Film Festival, Denmark 2013 
• OneWorld International Human Rights Film Festival, Czech Republic 2014 
• Worldfilm Festival in Tartu, Estonia 2014 

 

In “Last Dreams” I explore the taboo that in my eyes is the most bizarre, frightening and damaging in our culture: the taboo of dying. Bizarre, because we are all heading there but we are not able to even talk about it – frightening, because our loved ones sooner or later start dying around us but we are incapable of facing it – damaging, because by not confronting it we prevent us and our loved ones from facing the most powerful and unavoidable event in our life in a healthy and loving way.

 

One consequence is that most people die very lonely, with insufficient palliative care and deprived from finding peace. Another consequence is that relatives usually end up extremely traumatized, and on top of that don’t know how to manage with all that accumulated pain.

 

Death is an extremely complex and difficult subject. Therefore I find it so important to open the theme up to a wide discussion. Questions like ‘How do we want to die?’ ‘Where do we want to be?’ and ‘Who do we want around us?’ need to be dealt with in open and honest discussions. With “Life and Dream” I want to spark awareness about the screaming elephant in the room called Death.

Main Competition 2015