Honoring Choices
a film by Grief Dialogues
The film Honoring Choices was written by Elizabeth Coplan, a playwright and founder of Grief Dialogues, a nonprofit that uses art to start new conversations about dying, death, and grief. Adapted for the screen from a play written by Elizabeth in 2020, the piece was originally commissioned by and performed for Honoring Choices Pacific Northwest.
The film is meant as a conversation-starter for individuals and communities “to encourage families to engage in advance care planning and to help them start making better informed decisions for themselves and their families, share our experiences and offering meaning, explore/understand other people’s situations, and see how the characters handle adversity and conflict and to ponder how they themselves would handle a similar situation.”
Film Synopsis
When Bob, Denise and Maggie’s elderly father, receives his terminal cancer diagnosis, his daughters encourage him to prepare his end-of-life care plan so there’s no misunderstanding of what he wants or doesn’t want. But Bob is not having any part of it even though his doctor is encouraging him too. Throw in some family dynamics, disagreements, and resentments, plus a healthy dose of stubbornness, and the scene changes dramatically when Bob is hospitalized. Film Team and Award
The film features actors Frank C. Williams, Zena Woody, Tracey Evans, and Liora Harvin. Elizabeth had support from Dominick LaRuffa, Jr. as producer and story consultant, Joe Benedetto as director, Jenilyn N. Rodriguez as producer, and Bonnie Bizzell who served as a technical advisor for advance care planning.
The film received an Exceptional Merit Award from Docs Without Borders Film Festival in the viewer impact category, specifically for motivational/inspirational content/message delivery
How to Access
Honoring Choices is now available for license for community groups, individual practices, or anyone interested in sharing. Contact [email protected] for more information.