By Anthony O'Connor

The price we pay for our lives is death. It’s the dark truth that we, collectively as a society, try to hide from for as long as possible. But what of those who can’t hide? What of the people, who through misfortune or illness, are close to death and suffering in unimaginable pain? How do we treat those for whom life has simply become too wretched? When do we let people choose the time of their own ending?

These are the stark and confronting questions at the heart of Snowtown director Justin Kurzel’s new short film, Stop the Horror. The title suggests an edgy thriller, perhaps involving serial killers, but the reality couldn’t be more different. Stop the Horror is a short film detailing the final weeks of real Australian, Greg Sims. Greg died a hideous death from a virulent form of brain cancer, losing the ability to speak, control his movements or even swallow. This beloved husband and father died a wrenching, agonising death while his family looked on in horror. Greg was 56.

Nia Sims is Greg’s daughter who, with the help of Go Gentle Australia (a pro voluntary euthanasia organisation) told the story of her father’s pain, a story that deeply affected Justin and inspired him to create this extraordinary, harrowing short film.

The title, Stop the Horror, gives a very different impression to the actual film. What was the reasoning behind naming it that way?

 “A lot of these stories I was reading through Go Gentle Australia, and points of view I heard, about people going through unbearable suffering, did feel like a horror movie in some of the images and experiences. There was definitely a strong play on that in Stop the Horror. Like, this is true horror. This is what this kind of suffering amounts to. Right there from the start there was a real want and need, in terms of the discussion about euthanasia, to really take people through that very visceral point of view of what it is to suffer 24/7 in that kind of pain. And what it is to be supporting, and trying to comfort, people who are suffering.”

Is this a personal story for you too?

 “We all know or know of people who have had traumatic and aggressive deaths. The subject matter is so personal to a lot of people. I responded to Nia’s story about her father, and was deeply moved by her account and recollection of those final weeks. To me, there is an ethical debate about people having a choice to end that suffering, a fundamental right that I feel very passionate about.”

Nia’s story is a tragic and all too common one. What sort of conversations did you have with her?

 “Nia told me a some very personal accounts about her father, Greg. She talked about the man he was, how physical and able, how charismatic and handsome. For her to slowly see all his strength leave him and be forced into that situation of going through that suffering moved me, moved all of us involved in the project. She was willing to share those stories and trusted us with the material. I knew we had to place the viewer dead centre. What cinema is fantastic at doing is taking you into the human and the personal – to make you feel what that time was like for Nia and her family.”

The performances were uniformly extraordinary, how did you get such strong work from the actors?

 “I had three fantastic actors who were passionate, each of them moved by this subject, and had a strong connection there, drawing on personal experiences. I wanted the cast to feel trusted to go to some pretty heavy places, with complex emotions. It was a very loose set in regards to them feeling intimate with each other, and we took long takes to get to that exposing nature of what we were dealing with.”

Was it a difficult shoot?

 “It’s tricky and tough to get to that level of rawness but [the cast] were all so brave and prepared to go there – so the work does start to feel incredibly real, which it needs to be. We were aware we had an enormous responsibility with the story we were telling: a true story. When you’re dealing with a true story you don’t want to fuck it up. I found that with my first film (Snowtown), true events put an added pressure to do justice to the real story.”

 What do you want audiences to take away from this film?

“Initially I want people to feel punched in the face but also to be connected enough to the material that they feel the need to contact their local member of parliament. They need to support this cause so these laws can be changed. I hope people deeply connect with Nia and her story and, through the telling of it, feel the need to demand action.”

Stop the Horror can be seen at the official site. Further information on Go Gentle Australia and Victorian bill regarding voluntary assisted euthanasia can be found here.

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  • Nia Sims
    Nia Sims
    18 September 2017 at 5:40 pm

    X thanks Filmink and Justin for such a thoughtful and resident interview. Dad would be freaking out if he were looking down on this (which he ain’t) but I know he would be proud of Justin’s film and this campaign. Cheers, Nia

  • Nia Sims
    Nia Sims
    18 September 2017 at 5:42 pm

    resident = resonant. Voice to text – can’t live with it, can’t live without it

  • Tania OToole
    Tania OToole
    19 September 2017 at 1:29 am

    Extremely hard to watch and it sure does move you to tears , Greg and everyone that suffers disease and pain should never ever feel this pain nor the family watching this progress with their hearts broken .
    I can relate to this suffering as my Dad died of cancer but I feel watching this film my Dad was on of the lucky ones as the disease took him quickly but in no doubt he was in enormous pain.
    Nia my heart goes out to you and your family what a brave thing to do .
    R.I.P Greg taken too soon but left to die for way too long. No more pain .

  • Carl
    Carl
    19 September 2017 at 11:30 pm

    This had me in tears. The way people like Mr. Sims are treated under the law is sick, cruel and unnecessary. Lets hope that the extraordinary courage shown by his family and the excellent honest film helps to change that situation.
    RIP Mr Sims.

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