By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there’s always more we can learn about them as people. We decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
When asked which audiences he wants his new film to reach, director Reid Davenport lists two groups: “progressives who think that they know where they stand on assisted suicide,” and “anyone who isn’t fired up about health care and disability supports.” Davenport’s documentary Life After, which is screening in the U.S. Documentary Competition — and just won a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award — at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, begins as an investigation but quickly evolves into a larger, urgent discussion.
The film starts by revisiting a 1980s lawsuit in which a disabled woman named Elizabeth Bouvia requested that hospital staff allow her to starve to death as she was in pain and no longer wanted to live. Bouvia’s case fueled debates about the right-to-die movement, whose supporters argue is about bodily autonomy, dignity, and mercy. This is where Davenport’s documentary goes deeper, examining why disabled people specifically would request assisted suicide. Is it easier — and cheaper — for governments to expand access to assisted suicide than it is for them to expand health care supports so that disabled people can have a better quality of life?
“I want people to recognize the systems and attitudes that keep disabled people from being first-class citizens,” says Davenport. “Disability must be looked at through a political lens. And disability issues — access, financial support, health care — must be on the legislative docket.”
Read on to learn more about Davenport and his new documentary, including the director’s favorite part of the filmmaking process and why he believes Life After is a story for right now.
What was the biggest inspiration behind this film?
An essay by the late scholar Dr. Paul Longmore about Elizabeth Bouvia, the entry point to our film. I quickly discovered how little we knew about her, including whether she was alive or not.
Your favorite part of making the film? Memories from the process?
I loved the team I worked with at Multitude Films, from development through every shoot through post. Our film is topically very dark and heavy, but found moments of joy and laughter, including lots of gallows humor.
What was a big challenge you faced while making this film?
Crafting an effective intervention to the cognitive dissonance surrounding assisted suicide and disability rights.
Why does this story need to be told now?
I always have a tough time answering this question as it relates to political documentaries about disability because the issues I choose to address have usually been urgent for decades — it’s just that no one has taken them on.
Tell us why and how you got into filmmaking.
When I was in college, I was firmly discouraged from attending a study abroad program in Italy because of the lack of wheelchair access. Inspired by a class I took that was taught by filmmaker Jason Osder (Let the Fire Burn), I went to Europe a year later with a camera and director of photography to capture inaccessibility, which resulted in my first film.
If you weren’t a filmmaker, what would you be doing?
Maybe something to do with math. I like numbers and order.
What is something that all filmmakers should keep in mind in order to become better cinematic storytellers?
Fold captioning and audio descriptions into your practice, just like audio mixing and color grading.
Who are your creative heroes?
Eli Clare, Paul Longmore, Run The Jewels
What was the last thing you saw that you wish you made?
Patrice: The Movie
One thing people don’t know about me is _____.
I’m an aspiring woodworker.
Which of your personal characteristics contributes most to your success as a storyteller?
Stubbornness
Tell us about your history with Sundance Institute. When was the first time you engaged with us? Why did you want your film to premiere with us?
The Institute provided funding for my first feature film, I Didn’t See You There, which won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The Institute also provided funding for Life After and supported my producer, Colleen Cassingham, with a Producers Lab fellowship.
Who was the first person you told when you learned you got into the Sundance Film Festival?
My wife, Sophie 🙂
What’s your favorite film that has come from the Sundance Institute or Festival?
Time by Garret Bradley
