(April 16, 2009) Arts & Media Assistant Professor David Liban interviewed with Colorado Matters about his Mortal Lessons documentary on the dying process. The interview aired April 15.
It also has been accepted into two more international film festivals:
• “ReelHeART International Film Festival,” a juried festival that takes place in Toronto, June 15-20. (http://www.reelheart.com)
• Riverside International Film Festival, April 17-26 in California.
Mortal Lessons will be screened at the Starz Film Center on the Auraria Campus on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 25, at 1:30 p.m. Student admission is $7; Denver Film Society members, $6. For all others, price for the Wednesday, April 22, show is $9.50; Saturday’s show is $7.50. Buy tickets here.
The documentary will also air at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, on Rocky Mountain PBS.
Liban honors Hammett; Mortal Lessons screening April 22, 25
(March 11, 2009) Carole Hammett, guest of honor at the premiere of David Liban’s Mortal Lessons Feb. 26 at Starz Film Center, was featured extensively in the documentary. Hammett had been living with lung cancer and spoke in depth with Liban about her outlook on life and death. One week after the premiere, on Thursday, March 5, Hammet died.
“On the night of the premiere, Carole indicated to me that she knew she would be gone soon,” Liban said. “She said to me, ‘if there’s an afterlife, I’ll be sure to let you know.'
“I was really honored that she made the effort to be there for the screening given her condition, but it was important to her,” Liban said. “I was also really honored to have known her. I am even more honored that my film will immortalize her to some extent. People will get to see who she was and how special of a person she was. I will miss her.”
Mortal Lessons will be screened at the Starz Film Center on the Auraria Campus on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 25, at 1:30 p.m. Student admission is $7; Denver Film Society members, $6. For all others, price for the Wednesday, April 22, show is $9.50; Saturday’s show is $7.50. Buy tickets here.
The documentary will also air at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, on Rocky Mountain PBS.
Latest Liban documentary explores 'Mortal Lessons'
(Feb. 27, 2009) She died. He’s dead. It's death. It’s not passing on, it’s not falling asleep; it’s the ultimate end. This is one of many avenues David Liban explores in his latest documentary, Mortal Lessons, which premiered to an audience of about 200 at Starz Film Center Thursday, Feb. 26.
Everyone dies, yet few people deal with death in a healthy way. When death strikes, we are devastated, in part, because we are unprepared. Those who deal with death day-to-day might have a healthier relationship with the end of life. This film is about those people accept death and, even more importantly, how they embrace life.
Mortal Lessons profiles professionals who work in the industry of death and end-of-life care, or who themselves are terminally ill.
For David Liban, assistant professor in the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Arts and Media, making documentaries is about creating films people will benefit from.
While Liban’s Mortal Lessons impresses upon viewers, “when you face your mortality, you can enrich your life,” the film also tells the story of two women’s journeys as their lives come to a close following long bouts with lung cancer.
As Liban explains, “The viewer can watch the people in the film and not immediately think of themselves in their situation, so it seems separate from our own lives. But as the film progress, the viewer starts to see their own lives reflected in the film and may learn from the people in the film.”
Liban had earlier screened the documentary at a symposium held at the Anschutz Medical Campus’ Center for Excellence in Geriatrics. After the film ended, a father who lost his daughter to breast cancer approached Liban to express how “very helpful and therapeutic” it had been for him. According to Liban, “At that moment, I had greater clarity as to why I made the film: to help enlighten people. And honestly, this was far more rewarding than any award or festival acceptance. The trophies collect dust in the end.”
Photo: David Liban, right, speaks with Carole Hammett, who was profiled in the documentary, before the premiere. Hammet died a week after the premiere, on March 5.