Death is Inevitable, Suffering may be Optional

Death Differently and Porter Medical Center’s Palliative Care Department formerly led by Dr. Diana Barnard is pleased to co-sponsor the Vermont premiere screening of the documentary Other Side, directed by Heather Hogan and Carter Oakley. This important film will be screened at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury on Thursday, May 1, beginning at 5:30 PM.

Other Side (1 hour 30 minutes, released March 7, 2025) tells the poignant story of Lynda Bluestein, a Connecticut activist who fought for access to medical aid in dying in Vermont after enduring three cancer diagnoses and the challenges of unsuccessful treatments.

The event will include a live Q&A panel discussion featuring the filmmakers, palliative care expert Dr. Diana Barnard (a PCV board member), Lynda's husband Paul Bluestein, Bill Kilbourn—who hosted Lynda's passing in the Northeast Kingdom—and Steve Hochberg of the Smilin’ Steve Pharmacy, the only pharmacy in Vermont that fills prescriptions for medical-aid-in-dying medications.

The film addresses sensitive topics related to terminal illness and end-of-life choices. The post-film discussion will focus on audience responses and foster curiosity and deeper conversations about medical aid in dying, without a specific agenda.

Death Differently is a documentary series that explores alternative approaches to death, dying, and grief, with each episode in a series of films highlighting individual topics such as green burial, wind telephones, alternative death advocacy, and music thanatology.

Other Side premiered to sold-out crowds at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March and is a crucial narrative about accessing medical aid in dying as an out-of-state resident.

The Town Hall Theater is located at 42-46 Main Street in Middlebury, Vermont. Tickets and further information are available online at: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=278096.