Synopsis:

Ethan Sisser, a young man with terminal brain cancer, sits alone in his hospital room. When he starts livestreaming his death journey on social media, thousands of people around the world join to celebrate his courage. Still, Ethan envisions more – to teach the world how to die without fear. To do that, he needs to film his death.

Honoring Ethan's wish, his doctor Aditi Sethi transports him to an idyllic house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. What unfolds next is a story rarely glimpsed: how a community of strangers helps a young man die with grace.

A sensory immersion into leaving the body, “The Last Ecstatic Days”reveals a man who will not let us forget him – even after he’s taken his final breath.

Post-Screening Discussion:

Death and Grief Doula Berna Poljak

Berna received her first Death Doula training in 2018 after moving to Australia and has been working as a Death and Grief Doula since then. She is an author, podcaster and founding director of Wisdom of Grief and Death Platform in Turkey. Berna wholeheartedly believes that death is not a medical event but a process that needs community support. Her intention in serving in this field is to strengthen our individual and collective skills around death & grief and to be able to take a step towards discovering /creating communities where we are most isolated, lonely and stuck.

More about Berna:

The Road of Life and Death, An interview with Michael Meade by Berna Köker Poljak

Intervening in Meaning: Working with Grief for Traumatic Loss, An interview with Robert Neimeyer PhD by Berna Köker Poljak

Death Exist, an article by Berna Köker Poljak

The Whispers of The End, an article by Berna Köker Poljak

To learn more about our 2024 impact and outreach campaign, please visit: www.givebutter.com/thelastecstaticdays

A Virtual Screening of "The Last Ecstatic Days" + Discussion with Death and Grief Doula Berna Poljak