Can negativism sweeten life’s small joys in the face of illness and death?
‘I’m doomed, but we all are.’
A self-proclaimed ‘negativist’ with a cynical outlook, Edward Buchanan has been defying the odds since he outlived doctors’ predictions by eight years following a hepatitis C diagnosis. Ed’s latest diagnosis, however, seems much less escapable: cancer has left him with perhaps just weeks to live. An intimate and moving portrait of the eccentric 57-year-old California musician, Perpetual Ed reveals a precarious combination of cantankerous negativism and a sensitive, humour-laced humanity.
Director: Max Good
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Life stages
Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers
15 minutes
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Medicine
Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment
11 minutes
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Consciousness and altered states
What do screens depicting serene natural scenes mean to those living in lock-up?
12 minutes
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Ageing and death
Memories of friends and neighbours light the streets of a seaside village in England
11 minutes
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Family life
A mother and child bond in an unusual prison visitation space in this poignant portrait
11 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
‘Do worms cry?’ – and other questions collected from the mind of a curious child
4 minutes
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Illness and disease
Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. It’s a story worth remembering
25 minutes
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Personality
A ‘little thief’ turned career criminal recounts a life on the wrong side of the law
5 minutes
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Consciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes