The Last Rite

On Tuesday I went the premiere of a wonderful film produced for OMNI-TV by my friend the filmmaker Gina Valle. I met Gina many years ago and have not spent as much time with her as I would have liked. We met last winter and I was intrigued by her description of the proposed film following the death of her father.

This is Gina's description of the film:
The Last Rite illustrates how Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists ritualize death. In this documentary we spend time in mosques, Buddhist temples, and ashrams to gain knowledge into the meaning of death and life. By weaving reflections of my father’s death into discussions with spiritual leaders, practitioners and palliative care workers, The Last Rite explores why we fear death and why in the modern world we try everything possible to prolong life, and hide the reality of death.

There were so many beautiful images here and I found myself getting emotional as it touched on so many issues close to my heart. A lovely, lovely work and the moving culmination of much loving attention and detail.

The English version will be shown on OMNI-TV on Sunday October 18, 2009 9.00pm and the Italian version will be shown on Saturday October 24, 2009 10.00pm.