How to Die in Oregon

Last updated

How to Die in Oregon
How to Die in Oregon FilmPoster.jpeg
Poster
Directed by Peter Richardson
Produced byPeter Betty
StarringCody Curtis
Music by Max Richter
Distributed byClearcut Productions
Release date
  • January 23, 2011 (2011-01-23)(Sundance)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$750,000 [1]

How to Die in Oregon is a 2011 American documentary film produced and directed by Peter Richardson. It is set in the U.S. state of Oregon and covers the state's Death with Dignity Act that allows terminally ill patients to self-administer barbiturates prescribed by their physician to end their own life, referred to as assisted suicide by opponents and medical aid in dying by proponents.

Contents

Richardson spent nearly a year with 54-year-old Cody Curtis, an OHSU faculty member with liver cancer, as she grappled with the decision or not to take a lethal dose of a barbiturate. [2]

Release

The film was released in January 2011 at the 27th Sundance Film Festival and began airing on HBO later in the year. [3] Peter Richardson, a native Oregonian, got the idea to produce the film as the state's law was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 2006 case Gonzales v. Oregon.

Critical reception

How to Die in Oregon was well received by critics, currently holding a 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews. [4]

The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries at the 27th Sundance Film Festival. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Ross (actor)</span> American actor (born 1970)

Matthew Brandon Ross is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Gavin Belson in the HBO series Silicon Valley, Glenn Odekirk in The Aviator, and Luis Carruthers in American Psycho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Garbus</span> American film director and producer

Elizabeth Freya Garbus is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are The Farm: Angola, USA,Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,Bobby Fischer Against the World,Love, Marilyn,What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Becoming Cousteau. She is co-founder and co-director of the New York City-based documentary film production company Story Syndicate.

<i>Good Hair</i> 2009 American comedy documentary film by Jeff Stilson

Good Hair is a 2009 American documentary film directed by Jeff Stilson and produced by Chris Rock Productions and HBO Films, starring and narrated by comedian Chris Rock. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2009, Good Hair had a limited release to theaters in the United States by Roadside Attractions on October 9, 2009, and opened across the country on October 23.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Sundance Film Festival</span>

The 27th annual Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Park City, Utah, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.

Peter Richardson is an American documentary film director. A native of Philomath, Oregon, Richardson is a 1998 graduate of Philomath High School and attended the University of Notre Dame on a scholarship. After graduating from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production & Theory, Richardson moved to Los Angeles where he worked for a short time at a publicity company before moving back to Oregon to start work on his first film. Richardson has directed two award-winning feature documentaries. His first film, Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The film was later aired on the Sundance Channel. Richardson's second film, How to Die in Oregon, premiered on January 23 at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to directing the film, Richardson also acted as cinematographer, editor, and producer on How to Die in Oregon. The critically acclaimed film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize in the US Documentary competition. The film premiered on HBO on May 26, 2011. Richardson was the cinematographer on Irene Taylor Brodsky's documentary short film, Saving Pelican 895, which aired on HBO on April 20, 2011.

<i>Dear White People</i> 2014 film by Justin Simien

Dear White People is a 2014 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several black students. It stars Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P. Bell, Brittany Curran, Marque Richardson and Dennis Haysbert.

<i>The Battered Bastards of Baseball</i> 2014 documentary film

The Battered Bastards of Baseball is a 2014 documentary film about the Portland Mavericks, a defunct minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon. They played five seasons in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, from 1973 through 1977. Owned by actor Bing Russell, the Mavericks were an independent team, without the affiliation of a parent team in the major leagues. The title is from a line in Jim Bouton's 1970 book Ball Four: "Us battered bastards of baseball are the biggest customers of the U.S. Post Office, forwarding-address department."

<i>The Overnighters</i> 2014 American film

The Overnighters is a 2014 American documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jesse Moss. It premiered on January 18, 2014, as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival, and it won the festival's Special Jury Prize. The film also won a prize at the Miami International Film Festival, at which it was screened on March 13, 2014.

<i>We Come as Friends</i> 2014 Austrian film

We Come as Friends is a 2014 Austrian-French documentary film written, directed and produced by Hubert Sauper. The film premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. It won the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Bravery at the festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Donahue (filmmaker)</span> American film director and producer

Tom Donahue is an American film director, producer, and co-showrunner. His work as writer, director, and showrunner includes the Paramount Plus Original docuseries Murder of God's Banker and the upcoming six-part docuseries Mafia Spies, based on the 2019 book by Thomas Maier about the CIA-Mafia assassination plots against Fidel Castro.

<i>3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets</i> 2015 American film

3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets, also known as 3 1/2 Minutes, is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Marc Silver. The film is based on the events surrounding the 2012 murder of Jordan Russell Davis and examines the shooting itself, as well as the subsequent trial, media coverage and protests that resulted from the shooting.

<i>Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures</i> 2016 American film

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures is a 2016 American documentary film about the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, directed and executive produced by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, and produced by Katharina Otto-Bernstein for Film Manufacturers Inc.

<i>The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley</i> 2019 American documentary film

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley is a 2019 American documentary film, directed and produced by Alex Gibney. The film revolves around Elizabeth Holmes and her former company Theranos. It is considered a companion piece to the book, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.

<i>Welcome to Chechnya</i> 2020 documentary about the anti-LGBT purges in Chechnya

Welcome to Chechnya is a 2020 documentary film by American reporter, author and documentarian David France. The film centers on the anti-gay purges in Chechnya of the late 2010s, filming LGBT Chechen refugees using hidden cameras as they made their way out of Russia through a network of safehouses aided by activists.

<i>Time</i> (2020 film) 2020 American film

Time is a 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson and her fight for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.

<i>Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street</i> 2021 American documentary film

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Based on the non-fiction book Street Gang by Michael Davis, the film chronicles the development and airing of the children's television program Sesame Street, featuring interviews with series creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, as well as writers, actors, and artists involved in its creation.

<i>In the Same Breath</i> 2021 documentary film by Nanfu Wang

In the Same Breath is a 2021 documentary film directed and produced by Nanfu Wang. It follows how the Chinese and American governments reacted to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Navalny</i> (film) 2022 American film

Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.

<i>All That Breathes</i> Internationally co-produced documentary

All That Breathes is a 2022 documentary film directed by Shaunak Sen. It is produced by Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer under the banner of Rise Films. The film follows siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who rescue and treat injured birds in India.

<i>Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project</i> 2023 documentary film by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project is a 2023 documentary film directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson. It explores the life and career of American poet Nikki Giovanni.

References

  1. Barnes, Brook (January 24, 2011). "Unflinching End-of-Life Moments". The New York Times . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  2. "Peter D. Richardson". Willamette Week. February 16, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  3. Lowe, Justin, Justin (January 27, 2011). "HBO documentary probes Oregon's euthanasia law". Reuters . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  4. "How to Die in Oregon". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  5. Levy, Shawn (January 30, 2011). "'How to Die in Oregon' takes top documentary prize at Sundance". The Oregonian . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  6. Fowler, Brandi (January 29, 2011). "Sundance Goes Wild for Like Crazy; How to Die in Oregon Nabs Top Honors". E! Online . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
Awards
Preceded by Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary
2011
Succeeded by