To Live or Let Die (1982)
An Oscar-nominated short documentary confronting the life-and-death decisions made daily inside a neonatal intensive care unit.
To Live or Let Die - Movie Information
- Release Year: 1982
- Directed by: Terry Sanders
- Type: Movie
- Genres: Documentary
- Runtime: 30m
- Original Language: English
- Spoken Languages: English
- Release Date (Theatrical): January 1, 1982 (United States)
- Production Companies: American Film Foundation, Perennial Education
- Production Countries: United States of America
To Live or Let Die - Plot
To Live or Let Die is a 1982 American short documentary film directed by Terry Sanders, about the neonatal I.C.U. of the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, where life and death decisions must be made while ethical dilemmas are also posed by new technologies. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
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To Live or Let Die - Cast & Crew
Director(s)
- Terry Sanders
Producers
- Freida Lee Mock
To Live or Let Die - FAQs
What is To Live or Let Die about?
To Live or Let Die takes viewers inside the neonatal intensive care unit of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The film follows the agonizing decisions doctors, nurses, and families must make for critically ill newborns, while also confronting the profound ethical questions raised by rapidly advancing medical technologies.
Did To Live or Let Die win any awards?
To Live or Let Die earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 1983 Oscar ceremony, a remarkable achievement for a 30-minute film. The nomination brought significant attention to the ethical debates surrounding neonatal intensive care that the documentary so compellingly portrays.
Who directed To Live or Let Die?
Terry Sanders directed To Live or Let Die. Sanders is a veteran documentary filmmaker with a long career exploring socially significant subjects. The film was produced by Freida Lee Mock, who would later win an Academy Award herself for the documentary Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.
How long is To Live or Let Die?
To Live or Let Die runs approximately 30 minutes, making it a short documentary film. Despite its brief runtime, the film packs in a deeply moving and thought-provoking exploration of neonatal medicine, ethical dilemmas, and the human stakes involved in caring for critically ill newborns.
What ethical questions does To Live or Let Die raise?
The film digs into some of medicine's hardest questions: When should life-sustaining technology be used for premature or critically ill newborns? Who gets to decide — doctors, parents, or institutions? These dilemmas were especially urgent in the early 1980s as neonatal technology was advancing faster than the ethical frameworks to guide it.
When was To Live or Let Die released?
To Live or Let Die was released on January 1, 1982, in the United States. The film was produced by the American Film Foundation and Perennial Education, two organizations committed to bringing meaningful documentary work to educational and public audiences.
What are similar documentaries to To Live or Let Die?
If To Live or Let Die resonated with you, you might also enjoy Maria's Story (1991), Double Dare (2004), After Innocence (2005), and The Corporation (2003). For editorial picks with a similar spirit, Heart of a Dog (2015), Varda by Agnès (2019), and To Be Takei (2014) are all worth exploring.
Who produced To Live or Let Die?
Freida Lee Mock produced To Live or Let Die. Mock is a highly respected figure in documentary filmmaking, best known for later winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994). Her collaboration with director Terry Sanders brought this important story to the screen.
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