''Dying to Live'' (2018) is an Australian feature-length

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 ...

directed by Richard Todd. It reveals how Australia lags behind similar countries in organ and tissue donor registration numbers, and features Australian organ and tissue donors and recipients from Victoria,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Production

The film was produced by Richard Todd of Aquarius Productions and Ben McNeill of Intrinsic Story, and was directed by Todd. Aquarius Productions and Intrinsic Story commenced production on ''Dying to Live'' in late 2015. The film was shot in Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria. According to director Richard Todd, he "first heard about the organ and tissue shortage in Australia on a TV breakfast show in 2015 featuring a story with Allan Turner". Allan Turner is the father of Zaidee, a 7-year-old girl who suffered a

brain aneurism An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circu ...

and subsequently became Victoria’s youngest organ and tissue donor that year. Time critical shoots occurred in late 2016 and filming was completed in December 2017. Editing was completed in March 2018.

Release

''Dying to Live'' premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2018 and had local premieres at

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

and CinefestOz in Western Australia. The film was released in cinemas across Australia in October 2018.

Reception

''Dying to Live'' was shortlisted for a 2018 AACTA Award.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 6220964 Australian documentary films 2010s English-language films