Gregory Dugan at a protest for disability rights.

Reid Davenport Returns To Sundance with Important Questions in Life After

Film Interviews

The 1983 case of Elizabeth Bouvia, a disabled woman who sought the right to die, sparked a national conversation about autonomy, dignity and the value of disabled lives. Then, after the courts denied her request, Bouvia completely disappeared from the national spotlight. What happened to her? Life After, a powerful new documentary from director Reid Davenport and producer Colleen Cassingham, explores that question and many more concerning the systemic marginalization of disabled people in an ableist society.

Director of Life After, Reid Davenport
Reid Davenport, director of Life After, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Keith Wilson

“I think, for me, it started with learning about Elizabeth Bouvia’s story and realizing how little we knew about her life after she was in the national spotlight,” Davenport says. He won the Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary category at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for his feature debut, I Didn’t See You There, which chronicled his own experiences as disabled man with cerebral palsy. As someone who follows issues involving the disabled community very closely, Davenport was drawn to Bouvia’s story.  “It started as a question of erasure. How did the press — and we as a society — lose interest in her to the point where we didn’t even know whether she was alive or not?” Davenport says. This led him to a broader investigation of how disability intersects with issues of poverty, isolation and societal neglect. “As I started honing in my knowledge of assisted suicide and disability, I realized how many different issues this touched upon,” Davenport says. “It’s directly related to how our government supports poverty and how our society views disabled people. I started with Bouvia and ended with a larger critique of how disabled lives are valued.”

A significant portion of Life After examines Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, legalized in 2016 for those with foreseeable deaths and expanded in 2021 to include severe, non-terminal conditions. Although plans to extend MAID to include mental illnesses were postponed until 2027, the program has been heavily criticized. UN experts have expressed concern that MAID lacks adequate safeguards, devalues disabled lives and pressures vulnerable individuals into seeing death as their only option. Since its inception, MAID has accounted for 60,301 deaths, representing 4.7% of all deaths in Canada in 2021. This alarming figure underscores the systemic neglect faced by disabled individuals, a central theme of Life After.

“We see a lot of stories where disabled people are in dire situations, and it’s not because of their physical condition — it’s because of society’s reaction to their condition”

Life After delves into the thorny intersection of progressive ideals of bodily autonomy and the ableist assumptions underpinning debates about the right to die. Cassingham reflects on the troubling narratives surrounding disability in media, including the romanticized view of assisted suicide in mainstream films such as Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Me Before You (2016). “I think there doesn’t exist a film that takes the point of view we do, which is critiquing the notion that disabled folks can somehow reclaim dignity by being brave enough to end their lives,” Cassingham says. “The more I looked at these films with fresh eyes, the more I realized how icky that perspective is.”

Davenport shares similar concerns. “We see a lot of stories where disabled people are in dire situations, and it’s not because of their physical condition — it’s because of society’s reaction to their condition,” he says. The film underscores how systemic neglect, rather than disability itself, creates the conditions that lead people like Bouvia to feel their lives lack dignity. While Life After raises existential questions, it also makes a pragmatic case for systemic reform. Davenport and Cassingham believe that meaningful solutions require strong federal policies to support disabled people. “I think we need to fund disabled lives, we need to fund healthcare and we need to look at how isolated disabled people are — economically and socially,” Davenport asserts. “It’s not enough to tell stories of survival; we need to address the structural issues that keep disabled people in poverty and isolation.”

The producer of Life After, Colleen Cassingham
Colleen Cassinger, producer of Life After, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Colleen Cassingham

“We hope the film starts a conversation about what a society that truly values disabled lives might look like”

Cassingham feels that Life After is a film that raises big questions without spoon-feeding answers to its audience. “We walk right up to the point of saying it, but stop short because we want audiences to engage in the work of thinking about solutions,” Cassingham says. “A key takeaway, though, is that disabled people, like all people, need strong federal laws, policies and programs that take their needs and aspirations into account. Only then can we have a meaningful and safe debate about assisted dying legislation.” 

Davenport’s signature participatory approach infuses Life After with a sense of urgency and intimacy. As a filmmaker with cerebral palsy, he brings a personal and informed perspective to the issue. Life After challenges audiences to reconsider their assumptions about autonomy, dignity and the value of life. “We hope the film starts a conversation about what a society that truly values disabled lives might look like,” Cassingham says. “Because until disabled folks have everything they need to thrive, we can’t begin to have an ethical debate about issues like assisted dying.”

As Life After makes its premiere as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance 2025, it’s clear that Davenport and Cassingham have crafted a film that is as thought-provoking as it is essential. Through its unflinching exploration of a complex issue, the documentary not only sheds light on Elizabeth Bouvia’s story but also compels us to question the values and biases that shape our society.