Mar 28, 2024
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Front Page, Industry News

65_RedRoses: The moments that take our breath away

TO411 documentary review
by staff writer Daisy Maclean

On Saturday, March 27, Eva Markvoort lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 25. She died surrounded by the love of her family, the love of her friends, and the love of thousands of people around the world. This is due in part to her live journal and in part to an award winning documentary made by her friends that has touched the hearts of viewers everywhere.

65_RedRoses is a very personal film. Directors Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji, follow Eva’s life as she waits at the top of the donor list for a double lung transplant, in Vancouver, British Columbia. As the months drift by and Eva’s health deteriorates, everyone must face the reality that Eva might die before they find a donor. 

A lot of reviews call the documentary unflinching. This isn’t true, it does flinch, visibly. There are times when the camera physically turns away as if the person holding it can not watch the person they love suffer any longer. This is the problem with trying to document a journey of someone so close to you, however, if they had not been so close to her, there is no way the film would have had such extraordinary access to her personal life as they did.

Eva’s spirit is unbreakable, unable to leave the hospital for months at a time, she finds ways to connect to the world online with her live journal and in a community of other CF patients, bonding especially with two American girls, Meg and Kina. The documentary’s expression of Eva’s online world is impressively well integrated into the film, succeeding at multi-media where most Hollywood films fail. When Eva finally receives the life saving transplant, after nine months of waiting, the change in her health is remarkable. Able to do things she never could before, like sports, the beautiful vivacious girl blossoms before our eyes. 

This is where the documentary ends, with hopes achieved.

Eva’s story continues on in her blog. An uninhibited and honest look into her life, the blog is filled with expressive poetry and pictures that follows this remarkable girl for the rest of her journey. Eva became a pillar of inspiration to many people, a champion for the cause of those suffering with the disease, working tirelessly to promote awareness of the importance of organ donation. In her final message to her thousands of followers she says, “This is the end of my life, but not the end of my love, not the end of the story.”

I found 65_RedRoses to be emotionally staggering, and yet am uplifted by the story of a life, however brief, so well lived. I’m thankful to Eva for sharing herself so unselfishly with the world, and reminding me just how precious life really is. 

65_RedRoses is available online at CBC’s Passionate Eye.

Daisy Maclean will review recently completed documentaries for TO411 Daily – please contact her for more information: daisy@to411.com. 

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Front Page, Industry News

65_RedRoses: The moments that take our breath away

TO411 documentary review
by staff writer Daisy Maclean

On Saturday, March 27, Eva Markvoort lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 25. She died surrounded by the love of her family, the love of her friends, and the love of thousands of people around the world. This is due in part to her live journal and in part to an award winning documentary made by her friends that has touched the hearts of viewers everywhere.

65_RedRoses is a very personal film. Directors Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji, follow Eva’s life as she waits at the top of the donor list for a double lung transplant, in Vancouver, British Columbia. As the months drift by and Eva’s health deteriorates, everyone must face the reality that Eva might die before they find a donor. 

A lot of reviews call the documentary unflinching. This isn’t true, it does flinch, visibly. There are times when the camera physically turns away as if the person holding it can not watch the person they love suffer any longer. This is the problem with trying to document a journey of someone so close to you, however, if they had not been so close to her, there is no way the film would have had such extraordinary access to her personal life as they did.

Eva’s spirit is unbreakable, unable to leave the hospital for months at a time, she finds ways to connect to the world online with her live journal and in a community of other CF patients, bonding especially with two American girls, Meg and Kina. The documentary’s expression of Eva’s online world is impressively well integrated into the film, succeeding at multi-media where most Hollywood films fail. When Eva finally receives the life saving transplant, after nine months of waiting, the change in her health is remarkable. Able to do things she never could before, like sports, the beautiful vivacious girl blossoms before our eyes. 

This is where the documentary ends, with hopes achieved.

Eva’s story continues on in her blog. An uninhibited and honest look into her life, the blog is filled with expressive poetry and pictures that follows this remarkable girl for the rest of her journey. Eva became a pillar of inspiration to many people, a champion for the cause of those suffering with the disease, working tirelessly to promote awareness of the importance of organ donation. In her final message to her thousands of followers she says, “This is the end of my life, but not the end of my love, not the end of the story.”

I found 65_RedRoses to be emotionally staggering, and yet am uplifted by the story of a life, however brief, so well lived. I’m thankful to Eva for sharing herself so unselfishly with the world, and reminding me just how precious life really is. 

65_RedRoses is available online at CBC’s Passionate Eye.

Daisy Maclean will review recently completed documentaries for TO411 Daily – please contact her for more information: daisy@to411.com. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Front Page, Industry News

65_RedRoses: The moments that take our breath away

TO411 documentary review
by staff writer Daisy Maclean

On Saturday, March 27, Eva Markvoort lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 25. She died surrounded by the love of her family, the love of her friends, and the love of thousands of people around the world. This is due in part to her live journal and in part to an award winning documentary made by her friends that has touched the hearts of viewers everywhere.

65_RedRoses is a very personal film. Directors Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji, follow Eva’s life as she waits at the top of the donor list for a double lung transplant, in Vancouver, British Columbia. As the months drift by and Eva’s health deteriorates, everyone must face the reality that Eva might die before they find a donor. 

A lot of reviews call the documentary unflinching. This isn’t true, it does flinch, visibly. There are times when the camera physically turns away as if the person holding it can not watch the person they love suffer any longer. This is the problem with trying to document a journey of someone so close to you, however, if they had not been so close to her, there is no way the film would have had such extraordinary access to her personal life as they did.

Eva’s spirit is unbreakable, unable to leave the hospital for months at a time, she finds ways to connect to the world online with her live journal and in a community of other CF patients, bonding especially with two American girls, Meg and Kina. The documentary’s expression of Eva’s online world is impressively well integrated into the film, succeeding at multi-media where most Hollywood films fail. When Eva finally receives the life saving transplant, after nine months of waiting, the change in her health is remarkable. Able to do things she never could before, like sports, the beautiful vivacious girl blossoms before our eyes. 

This is where the documentary ends, with hopes achieved.

Eva’s story continues on in her blog. An uninhibited and honest look into her life, the blog is filled with expressive poetry and pictures that follows this remarkable girl for the rest of her journey. Eva became a pillar of inspiration to many people, a champion for the cause of those suffering with the disease, working tirelessly to promote awareness of the importance of organ donation. In her final message to her thousands of followers she says, “This is the end of my life, but not the end of my love, not the end of the story.”

I found 65_RedRoses to be emotionally staggering, and yet am uplifted by the story of a life, however brief, so well lived. I’m thankful to Eva for sharing herself so unselfishly with the world, and reminding me just how precious life really is. 

65_RedRoses is available online at CBC’s Passionate Eye.

Daisy Maclean will review recently completed documentaries for TO411 Daily – please contact her for more information: daisy@to411.com. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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