Life After is focused on advocating for awareness of disabled people’s and their lack of funding, especially here in Ontario and in Canada as a whole in light of C-7 which would allow people with disabilities to end their lives. The film makes it clear that the main problem is not just the disability. It also is the response of (and reliance upon) a government that is properly funding their needs that makes people choose to end their life. Through the stories of a few different people with disablilties, After highlights the lowest parts of capitalism where it becomes financially motivated to allow, suggest and, at worst, encourage the death of disabled people.

Director Reid Davenport, who has cerebral palsy himself, directed the film and offers his own perspective on what he sees happening. He frequently allows his personality and determination to share the story and adds his sense of humour to it, cracking jokes even in the face of the most difficult realities of comforting cases of disabled people whose lives were mistreated by medicine and the bureaucratic process. He calls it ‘gallows humour’ and it brings enjoyment and thoughtfulness to what can be a sobering and haunting topic. 

During the Q&A, Reid says that he is not against the idea of self-assisted dying in theory but, because of the world’s problem of resources, ableism and racism plague such a process to make a bill like C-7 a clear and present threat to disabled people. The State involvement in ways to die is their a disgraceful attempt to help long term care and disability care. The efficient way to help people then become saving money and seeming to allow people to take their lives through these government programs. As we confront the fact that we will all age and all need long term care, we need to be aware about legislation works against people. The film is well-edited and purposefully cuts back between different stories as we follow this story over many years. In that spirit, I believe this is  film that I think everyone should see.

Life After is playing at Hot Docs ’25. For more information, click here.