Reid Davenport’s ‘Life  After’ Documentary on Elizabeth Bouvia’s 1983 Right-to-die Case Opens in Theaters | Trailer

Life  After directed by disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport (I Didn’t See You There), is a powerful documentary on the deeply personal and public debate surrounding assisted dying.

Davenport probes the legacy of Elizabeth Bouvia – a disabled California woman who, at the age of 26, sought “the right to die.” Her landmark 1983 case provoked a national debate about the value of disabled lives, and Davenport sees echoes in chilling contemporary cases of disabled people dying prematurely — at their own hands and from a broken health care system.

Life  After debuted to critical acclaim at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it earned the Special Jury Award for U.S. Documentary. The documentary also won the Special Jury Award at the Salem Film Festival, the Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Activism at San Francisco DocFest, and Special Mention at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

The film kicks off its theatrical tour in New York at the Film Forum with a week-long run beginning July 18th. The film will also host Q&As moderated by Laura Poitras (director, All The Beauty and the Bloodshed), The New Yorker’s Richard Brody, and Emily Ladau (disability rights activist). Following the New York release, Life  After will receive event screenings in select cities (see below), with Reid Davenport in attendance at each. In addition, the tour will feature virtual companion screenings on Gathr to expand the accessibility and reach of the tour.

Following the theatrical tour, Life  After will receive a broadcast release on PBS’s Independent Lens in fall 2025.

Here is the official synopsis:

In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia and her story’s relevance today.

Life  After coalesces the missing voices of the disability community in the contemporary debate about assisted dying. Davenport looks at the ways that disabled people have and continue to die prematurely—whether murdered by a hospital in the case of Michael Hickson in Texas, or with the support of parents and community in the case of Wisconsin teen Jerika Bolen. Davenport’s exploration brings him to Canada, where safeguards have been lifted to allow disabled people unprecedented access to Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), even if their deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. In Ontario, Davenport interviews disabled computer programmer Michal Kaliszan, who contemplated MAID when his only alternative was entering an institution.

In a society where ableism and poor healthcare can limit options, the autonomy of a disabled individual is often compromised. Life  After demonstrates how assisted dying may not represent choice when oftentimes it is seen as the only option.

Watch the trailer for Life  After.

Theatrical Screening Dates

For an updated list of locations, please visit the LIFE AFTER website

7/18 – 7/24 (2:30pm, 4:50pm, 7:10pm) Film Forum | New York City, NY

7/18 7:10pm w/ Q&A moderated by Laura Poitras (Filmmaker), presented by Center for Constitutional Rights and NYC Disability Right Archive

7/19 7:10pm w/ Q&A moderated by Richard Brody (The New Yorker), presented by The Squeaky Wheel

7/20 4:50pm presented by Judson Memorial Church and Middle Church

7/21 7:10pm presented by the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled

7/22 7:10pm presented by Reelabilities

7/23 7:10pm w/ Q&A moderated by Emily Ladau (Able News) with comedian Maysoon Zayid, presented by NYU’s Center for Disability Studies

7/24 7:10pm presented by AXS Lab

7/24 7:00pm Philadelphia Film Society | Philadelphia, PA w/Q&A moderated by Abbey White (Inevitable Foundation)

7/26 3:00pm ET | Virtual screening

7/28 7:00pm ET | Virtual screening

7/27 3:00pm Gene Siskel Film Center | Chicago, IL w/ Q&A moderated by Cassidy Dimon (FWD-Doc) and Keidra Chaney (Disability Culture Lab), presented by Access Living

7/31 7:00pm CT | Virtual screening

8/2 3:00pm CT | Virtual screening

7/30 7:30pm Austin Film Society | Austin, TX w/ Q&A moderated by Nadia Bakir (Austin in Connection) with disabled psychologist David Younger

7/31 8:00pm CT | Virtual screening

8/2 4:00pm CT | Virtual screening

8/2 7:00pm O-Cinema | Miami, FL (Unstoppable On The Road) w/ Q&A. *No AD.

8/4 7:00pm The Tara | Atlanta, GA w/ Q&A moderated by Dom Kelly (New Disabled South) with Andraéa Lavant

8/7 7:00pm ET | Virtual screening

8/9 3:00pm ET | Virtual screening

8/10 12:30pm The Roxie | San Francisco, CA w/ Q&A moderated by Julia Métreaux (Mother Jones) with Alice Wong (Disability Visibility Project)

8/12 7pm PT | Virtual screening

8/13 7pm PT | Virtual screening

8/11 Vidiots | Los Angeles, CA w/ Q&A moderated by Kristen Lopez (Journalist) with Michelle Uzeta (DREDF)

8/12 8pm PT | Virtual screening

8/13 8pm PT | Virtual screening

8/14 6:30pm Northwest Film Forum | Seattle, WA w/ Q&A with film participants, presented by Donkeysaddle Projects

8/16 3pm PT | Virtual screening

8/18 7pm PT | Virtual screening

8/15 7:00pm PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater | Portland, OR w/ Q&A moderated by Cathy Kudlick (Historian) with Curiosity Paradox

8/17 8pm PT | Virtual screening

8/19 8pm PT | Virtual screening

8/20 7:00pm Fleur Cinema | Des Moines, IA

8/22 11:00am Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival | Middlebury, VT