Philip Gould was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2008, and in the summer of 2011 he was given three months to live. Filmed during the last two weeks of his life, this intimate portrait reveals Gould’s quest to find meaning in what he called ‘the death zone’. Gould believed that for the terminally ill and those close to them, there can be moments of joy, resolution and inspiration just as intense as those of fear, discomfort and sadness.
Director: Adrian Steirn
Producer: Nicola Howson
videoConsciousness and altered states
How an artist learned to ‘co-live’ with the distressing voice in her head
6 minutes
videoLife stages
Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers
15 minutes
videoConsciousness and altered states
What do screens depicting serene natural scenes mean to those living in lock-up?
12 minutes
videoAgeing and death
Memories of friends and neighbours light the streets of a seaside village in England
11 minutes
videoFilm and visual culture
Space and time expand, contract and combust in this propulsive animation
5 minutes
videoConsciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes
videoCognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
videoAgeing and death
We’re not the only animals that appear to grieve. What are the implications?
6 minutes
videoBiology
An elegy for a dying microbe explores what we really mean by ‘death’
9 minutes