Documentary filmmakers Bob Sacha and Scott Anger recently published “50 milligrams is not enough,” an emotional account of cancer-stricken patients suffering from a lack of sufficient pain medication in Ukraine. “While late-stage cancer patients in other countries might get 2,000 milligrams or more of morphine per day to manage their pain symptoms, patients in Ukraine are only allowed 50 milligrams per day,” wrote producer Pamela Chen. This project is the first in a series of three short films done for the Open Society Foundations documenting human rights abuses in health care settings. It is eye-opening, unsettling and definitely worth your time.
“As documentary filmmakers, our desire is always to truthfully witness and record events as they unfold, which means we’re shooting all the time,” Anger wrote. “Nothing is setup or staged. Our goal is to eventually become invisible so people are comfortable enough to go about their daily lives. Once we explained to Nadia and Vlad why we were there and what we wanted to do, they agreed. From that point forward, we filmed nearly every aspect of their lives.â€
You can read more about the producers’ thoughts on the film over at Open Society’s blog.
I watched the film easily from beginning to end in full-screen mode and didn’t even realize that it was 13.5 minutes long until it was over. It was clearly evident that Sacha and Anger had an excellent working relationship with Vlad and Nadia, as some of the scenes were almost so intimate that I felt I should turn my head.
I appreciated the additional resources and links that were included on the site for those who want to learn more. This issue is simply intolerable and I hope gut-wrenching stories like Vlad’s helps to raise awareness about this inhumanity.
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