MADEMOISELLE AND THE DOCTOR

"Lisette Nigot is a bright, healthy 79-year-old French woman living in Australia who has decided she does not want to reach her 80th birthday. Dr. Philip Nitschke, Australia's top euthanasia advocate, advises Nigot on how to complete her "final project." Janine Hoskings explores the right to die issue in this heartbreaking yet thought-provoking film about the relationship of Nitschke and Nigot.

Dr. Nitschke not only advises Nigot, he holds workshops to council others on methods they might consider in planning their own deaths. He invents a machine called Co-Gen that he takes on the road to market in Brussels and then the United States. The invention offers a safer, more peaceful way to die, says Nitschke. Philosophical fires ignite all along the way and ethical and moral arguments abound, culminating in an interview on CNN with Connie Chung, who says, "You are playing God though aren't you?"

MADEMOISELLE AND THE DOCTOR presents the full spectrum of Nitschke's clients. Does he go too far, or not far enough? While it is impossible to know the answer from those who succeed with Nitschke's machine, the film offers views from families and from people who go through the doctor's workshop but don't follow through on their plans. Sometimes, it seems, knowing that they have control over their own destinies is all the inner strength they need to change their minds."

Thursday 6/17 at 3:15 p.m.

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