10 · 22 · 23 Analeine Cal y Mayor Releases the Documentary DULCE MUERTE with the Support of Viggo Mortensen and Carlos Sosa Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Omar Sosa Topete Omar Sosa Topete As part of the 21st Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), director Analeine Cal y Mayor presented her new documentary Dulce muerte (2023) for the first time, accompanied by producers Viggo Mortensen and Carlos Sosa. "After many years of work, eight years, today Dulce muerte is born, and it is born as I most desire: in a movie theater as a collective experience of enjoying a film," said Cal y Mayor. The film follows the story of Philip Nitschke, a doctor and euthanasia advocate who was stripped of his medical license and, in order to continue his work, begins a stand-up show where he talks about euthanasia in countries where it is still illegal. As the film progresses, we see how the fear of inheriting a chronic illness from his mother drives Dr. Philip to consider euthanasia, not just defend it. "This film doesn't really talk about death but about the love of life, a dignified good quality life; that's why I had the energy and the desire to follow these people for so long," added the director. At the end of the screening, the director, Analeine Cal y Mayor, and the producers, Viggo Mortensen and Carlos Sosa, held a Q&A session with the audience. During the Q&A Cal y Mayor referred to her previous work in fiction as a great support to shape the structure of the documentary. She also talked about the decisions made at the time of scoring the documentary, emphasizing that she didn't want to "overdramatize" the subject because of how strong the dialogue or the images could already be, so she sought to use percussions for the film and fortunately, Mauro Refosco, who had worked with David Byrne, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thom Yorke, showed interest in the project. While Viggo Mortensen joined the project at an advanced stage and supported its completion, he shared experiences similar to those portrayed in the documentary with people close to him regarding how they lived their lives, and also expressed his position very succinctly: "If you want to live, be prepared to die. If you want to live well, think about it, not all at once, it is healthy". Carlos Sosa said he was immediately atracted to the documentary when Cal y Mayor showed him how much progress she had made. He believes she is a great idea creator. To conclude, Analeine Cal y Mayor mentioned and celebrated the great step that was taken in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, when several representatives presented an initiative to regulate euthanasia within the General Health Law and change the perception of this practice in the country, seeking to give the power to decide about life to those who are living it.
