''Chi'' is a 2013

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

documentary film by

Anne Wheeler Anne Wheeler, OC, (born September 23, 1946) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer, and director. Biography Graduating in Mathematics from the University of Alberta she was a computer programmer before traveling abroad. Her years o ...

about Vancouver actress

Babz Chula Babz Chula (born Barbara Ellen Zuckerman; circa 1946 – May 7, 2010) was an American-born Canadian actress. Chula spent her early childhood in the working-class neighbourhood of Jamaica, N.Y., but her widowed mother, Abby Zuckerman, a bookin ...

and her death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Part of the film was shot at an

ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

clinic in

Kerala, India Kerala ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, where Chula had travelled for cancer treatment in 2010. The idea to make a film about her story first occurred to Wheeler when she cast Chula, already diagnosed with cancer in real life, as a cancer patient who dispenses philosophical advice in her 2008 TV movie, ''Living Out Loud''. When Wheeler and Chula worked together again the following year on

Carl Bessai Carl Bessai (born 1966 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Bessai studied at OCAD University and at York University in Toronto graduating with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. He got his start directing documentary fi ...

's film ''Fathers & Sons'', Chula shared the story of a patient she'd met at a chemotherapy who credited her recovery to treatment in India. Wheeler, who had spent considerable time in India, decided to accompany Chula on her search for a cure. The film had its world premiere in April 2013 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 ...

. On March 9, 2014, ''Chi'' was named best short documentary film at the

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

.Liz Braun, "Enemy, Mortal Instruments dominate award show". QMI Agency, March 9, 2014.

References

External links

* * 2013 films 2013 documentary films 2010s short documentary films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Films directed by Anne Wheeler Documentary films about actors Documentary films about cancer Documentary films about women in film Films shot in Vancouver Films shot in India Documentary films about death Best Short Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian short documentary films 2010s Canadian films {{short-documentary-film-stub