''65_RedRoses'' is a 2009

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about

Eva Markvoort Eva Markvoort (March 31, 1984 – March 27, 2010) was a woman from New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada who died from cystic fibrosis at the age of 25. She blogged about her life, family and experiences, including undergoing a lung transplant ...

, a young woman from

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

, British Columbia, who suffered from

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

. Directed by Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji, it follows Markvoort as she lives her life undaunted by her disease, waiting for a

lung transplant Lung transplantation, or pulmonary transplantation, is a surgical procedure in which one or both lungs are replaced by lungs from a donor. Donor lungs can be retrieved from a living or deceased donor. A living donor can only donate one lung lobe. ...

while

blogging A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

about her experiences.

Production

The film began when Philip Lyall, a long-time friend of Markvoort, introduced her to his

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

film school partner

Nimisha Mukerji Nimisha Mukerji is a Canadian film and television director. She has directed episodes of ''Mech-X4'' and '' Gabby Duran & the Unsittables''. Career Mukerji's debut feature, '' 65 Redroses'' (2009), was one of the first official selections by Opr ...

. Lyall and Mukerji had been looking for a post-graduation project and decided to chronicle Markvoort's wait for a double-lung transplant. They named the film ''65_Redroses'' after Eva's

online identity Internet identity (IID), also online identity or internet persona, is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites. It may also be an actively constructed presentation of oneself. Although some people cho ...

, which she had chosen because, according to the Canadian cystic fibrosis community, "sixty-five roses" is how many young children with the disease mispronounce "cystic fibrosis". Eva added 'red' because it was her favourite colour. When Lyall and Mukerji began shooting, Markvoort's lungs were so clogged doctors said that without a transplant, she would not live to 2009. She was getting ready to visit a

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

patch the week before

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

in 2007, when her

pager A pager (also known as a beeper or bleeper) is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknow ...

went off, a signal to call the hospital transplant center. A pair of lungs was available for transplant. This sequence, emotional for both Markvoort and the filmmakers, was instrumental in attracting the attention and backing of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Release

''65_Redroses'' premiered at the

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

and won three awards at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

, including most popular Canadian film and documentary. It debuted on television on CBC's ''

The Passionate Eye ''The Passionate Eye'' is a Canadian documentary television series—and online playlist—that showcases documentary programming from around the world focusing on topics of news, current affairs, politics, and social issues. Airing on CBC News ...

'' series and was acquired by the

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

for international distribution. On November 16, 2010, it was announced that ''65_Redroses'' had been acquired by the

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show h ...

and would premiere in the United States in early 2011. Hello Cool World is the distributor of the film in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1399237
Eva Markvoort's blog ''65 Red Roses''

Watch ''65_Redroses'' at CBC.ca
2009 films Documentary films about health care Films shot in Vancouver Canadian documentary television films Documentary films about women 2009 documentary films Documentary films about people with disability Films about cystic fibrosis Articles with underscores in the title CBC Television original films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films