On September 8th, 2019, the award-winning documentary 65_RedRose, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special screening at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre with speakers and special musical guests. Directed by UBC Film Production alumni Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall, 65_RedRoses captures the unguarded journey of 23-year-old Vancouverite, Eva Markvoort, in her battle with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a fatal genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system. Redefining the traditional scope of documentaries in an electronic age, this impactful film gives insight into the experience of those waiting for life-changing transplants.
Presented in partnership with the Transplant Research Foundation of BC, Onni, and the Directors Guild of Canada BC, and with CBC Vancouver as a media partner, this anniversary event will feature inspirational speakers, including Eva’s surgeon, Dr. John Yee, as well as a special musical guest.
Proceeds from the screening will go towards transplant research through the Transplant Research Foundation of British Columbia.
65_RedRoses first premiered in 2009 at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it won three awards, including the Audience Award for Most Popular Canadian Film. According to alumnus Zach Lipovsky, Directors Caucus Representative at the Directors Guild of Canada BC, “65_RedRoses is truly a breathtaking film and was a major steppingstone for both Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall in launching their directing careers. Their vision for this film has created a lasting message that continues to resonate today.”
Since its premiere, the film and the #4Eva art campaign have inspired a national movement for organ donation and CF awareness, helping to triple the donor rate reported by BC Transplant.
The film has been screened around the world, including on Oprah’s Documentary Club, and has won numerous national and international awards. It is now available in all schools in British Columbia as a teaching point to educate youth about health and science, while sharing Eva’s message to make every moment count.
For more information and to purchase tickets to the event, visit: www.65RedRoses.com
Nimisha Mukerji’s thoughts about her time at UBC Theatre and Film:
The Film Production program at UBC shaped me both as a person and as a filmmaker. I was mentored by Academy Award winning filmmaker John Zaritsky, who was our Professor, and I met Philip Lyall who became my collaborator as we worked on student films (we won the Leo Award in 2006 for Scattering Eden). Out of our partnership, we co-directed 65_RedRoses and recruited fellow students and alumni Mike Rae (Cinematographer), Nettie Wild (Story Editor), Adam Locke-Norton (Composer) and Cyrus McEachern, who was a medical student and artist and took many of Eva’s iconic photos that were used while promoting the film and it’s awareness campaign for organ donation. So many people that we met at UBC contributed to the making of this film.
This anniversary screening is incredibly special to both myself and Philip, since it shows the lasting impact of Eva’s message both locally and around the world. When we started production on 65_RedRoses, we were 23 years old and had just graduated from UBC. Eva was our friend and collaborator. She believed in us as a team, and trusted us to tell her story. The resulting two years of intensive work that it took to make her film, in reality were full of hardships, set-backs, and remarkable successes. Ten years later, Eva has brought us all together again. I am reminded daily of the message she conveyed to everyone who knew: Love is the answer.
Philip Lyall’s thoughts about his time at UBC:
65_RedRoses would have never materialized if it wasn’t for the Film Production Department at UBC where Nimisha and I became friends and creative partners. When my friend, Eva Markvoort, informed me she was being placed on the transplant list, it was our Adjunct Professor, John Zaritzky, who encouraged Nimisha and I to produce a full-length feature documentary on her. This film was a labour of love and couldn’t have been successfully made without the strong relationships we created during our time at UBC.
The 10th Anniversary screening will be an emotional evening for Nimisha and I. At 23, we embarked on a two-year journey documenting her every move, filming by her side as she received a life-saving double lung transplant, and then witnessing the miracle of her speedy recovery. When she told us for the very first time that she could breathe again, it brought tears to my eyes and continues to do so. Even though, she would succumb to rejection a few years later, she showed us how to live every moment to the fullest. Since her death, her legacy and her presence is still palpable; her spirit resonates with so many people. This evening is to celebrate the awe-inspiring woman that is Eva Markvoort.
BIOS:
Nimisha Mukerji
Canadian Screen Award nominee Nimisha Mukerji is a writer, director and producer whose work has been featured on OWN, HBO, Netflix and Nat Geo. Her films include the biographical feature TEMPEST STORM (distributed by Mongrel Media), BLOOD RELATIVE (3 CSA nominations including Best Direction in a Documentary Program), and 65_REDROSES, which was acquired by Netflix and Hulu and went on to be selected by Oprah Winfrey for her Documentary Club on OWN. Currently Mukerji is overseeing post-production on the feature documentary JACINTA, which she is producing with the Academy Award winning team behind ICARUS (Impact Partners). Additional credits include the teen sci-fi series MECH-X4 for Disney XD (for which she won a 2019 Leo Award for Direction in a Youth Program), Disney’s new action comedy series GABBY DURAN & THE UNSITTABLES and THE DEEP END for Hallmark’s flagship series CHRONICLE MYSTERIES. Mukerji also has written and produced segments for Sesame Street. She is an alumnus of TIFF’s Talent Lab and was the recipient of the UBC Young Alumnus Award in 2015. She is represented by the Kaplan Stahler Agency. www.shotglassproductions.com
Philip Lyall
Canadian Screen Award nominee Philip Lyall is a writer, producer and director whose work has been featured on OWN, BRAVO and ABC. Credits include the multi-award winning feature documentary 65_RedRoses along with field directing and story producing numerous reality TV shows such as Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, ABC’s The Quest, Slice’s Game of Homes, Knowledge Network’s award winning series Emergency Room : Life and Death at VGH and Slice’s The Real Housewives of Vancouver. Philip is represented by Integral Artists.
