THE SELF-MADE MAN
Susan Stern
USA, 2004, 58 minutes
"I am seriously considering...whether I can put an end to this very nice life." So begins the video Bob Stern recorded for his daughters. The video is the core of this moving journey through one man's decision to end his life.
Bob Stern was a self-made man who earned a fortune in steel and real estate before turning his attention to solar power. When faced with prostate cancer and an operation for an aneurism, he was told he had no choice but to have the operation. Bob decided that he did have a choice.
This is a personal and intelligent treatment of just how complicated the matter is to both the individual and the family. Bob's daughter Susan creates a touching portrait of her father and his decision to end his life. The history and dynamics of the family slowly unfold through old footage, photographs and interviews, bringing us into their world and allowing us to truly understand them.
But it is Bob's home video that is most moving. Interwoven with interviews of his wife and son, it shows his rational view of the situation and his struggle to make a decision. The film reveals the difficulties one family must face in answering the question, "If we celebrate the self-made man, can we accept a self-made death?"
Karen Cirillo
Susan Stern directed the cult classic documentary BARBIE NATION: AN UNAUTHORIZED TOUR, which won the Golden Spire for documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival and has become standard viewing in college classrooms studying American culture and sexuality. Before making films, Stern was an investigative reporter and poet; she was a member of the Berkeley Poets Coop and won the University of California's Ina Mae Coolbrith Poetry Award. She is in development on two new nonfiction projects.
Print Source:
Bernal Beach Films Inc.
3275 Harrison St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: 415.282.0315
Email: susan@bernalbeach.com
PRECEDED BY...BIRDLINGS TWO
Davina Pardo
Canada/USA, 2004, 6 minutes
Her father wanted to be a filmmaker but chose to wear a suit instead. Davina Pardo has become a filmmaker and explores the relationships between hope and disappointment.
Print Source:
Davina Pardo
882 Middle Avenue #3
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: 650.326.3733
Email: davina@birdlings.com
Thursday 6/16 at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday 6/18 at 12:45 p.m.
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