LAST WORDS

TitleLAST WORDS
BrandINDIAN ASSOCIATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE (IAPC)
Product / ServiceAWARENESS ON PALLIATIVE CARE
CategoryE04. Education & Services aimed at Healthcare Professionals
EntrantMEDULLA COMMUNICATIONS Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation MEDULLA COMMUNICATIONS Mumbai, INDIA
Production A NINETEEN FILMS Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Mr. Praful Akali Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Managing Director
Mr. Amit Akali Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Chief Creative Officer
Mr. Ajay Takalkar Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Creative Supervisor, Art
Mr. Huzefa Roowala Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Content and Creative Director
Ms. Hensila Kawa Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Digital Media Specialist
Mr. Rahul Sengupta A Nineteen Films Director
Mr. Pradeep Das A Nineteen Films Producer
Mr. Padmanabhan Nair Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Creative Supervisor, Copy
Dr. Shraddha Tawate Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Director, Consumer Healthcare
Ms. Rasika Beke Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Marketing Consultant
Mr. Himanshu Sandhu Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Conceptuliser and Producer
Mr. Himman Dhamija A Nineteen Films Director Of Photography
Mr. Abhilesh Shivalkar A Nineteen Films Editor
Mr. Sandeep Srinivasan A Nineteen Films Associate Director
Mr. Neil Mukherjee A Nineteen Films Music Composer

Brief Explanation

This film has been scripted with the real last words of thousands of terminally ill patients as heard by 200 nurses across India, over a cumulative 2,000 + years of nursing service. Close ups of real nurses recounting real last words form the film. The film starts with shots of the nurses laughing. Each nurse then narrates one set of last words that moved her deeply but the stories are depicted non-linearly, moving from one nurse to the next and back, using the narrative to build on the emotion, till the laugher subsides, the smiles fade, the eyes get teary and one nurse finally breaks down with the last words “Have you ever seen anyone die?” The supers then reveal the simple fact that most last words are heard by nurses and not family, in order to bring alive the need to offer palliative care.

Execution

This film brought alive the real last words of terminally ill patients as heard by more than 200 nurses across India. When we experienced the raw power of the real last words, we realised the direction had to be minimalistic. In fact, once the nurses started sharing their experiences, we realised the process was cathartic for them, releasing their pent-up emotions. So the film directed itself, with the role of direction being only to make them comfortable and capture their emotions. Simultaneously, care was taken to portray them as ordinary people who were just as deeply touched by death as any of us. Since the film required extreme close-ups of real nurses and not professional actors, capturing these emotions was no small task. Put together in a non-linear narrative style, last words packed an emotional punch that gave a new direction to the way palliative care would be viewed.

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