Dying

The television documentary *Dying* follows three terminally ill people as they come to terms with their impending death over a period of two years. Roemer is primarily interested in the perspective of those who are dying, but also gives their loved ones a voice, approaching this taboo subject with empathy and great openness. His protagonists speak with emotional candour, such as Harriet, who will soon be a young widow with two young sons. She hopes that her husband Bill will die quickly, if it must be so, so that she still has the chance to remarry. Painful truths and the unpredictability of human behaviour recur throughout Roemer’s work. He describes his unbiased approach as follows: “I don’t make decisions; I let the circumstances decide for me.” (J.P.)