An Interview with Laura’s Choice Directors Sam Lara and Cathy Henkel – A Meditation on Compassion, Family, and the Difficult Discussions Along the Way

Every so often, a film comes across your way that manages to reinforce a life perspective that you’ve long felt alone with feeling. For me, the discussions about end of life care, and voluntary assisted dying, have been something that I’ve found that we all need to talk about more. As our community ages, we owe it to our loved ones to support their end of life journey in the manner that they feel is best for them.

Which is why I’m beyond grateful that I had the time to talk to filmmakers Sam Lara and Cathy Henkel about their powerful documentary, Laura’s Choice. This film follows Laura Henkel, an eccentric, outspoken, feisty 90-year-old who has decided she wants to end her life on her own terms. This interview is about how Sam and Cathy both approached Laura’s request for them both to make a film about her choice, and the path that it leads them down.

This synopsis may sound depressing, or difficult to bear, but that hides the joy and beauty within this film. It’s a story full of love, compassion, empathy, and most importantly, the support for the choice of a loved one, a mother, a grandmother, to decide to embark upon voluntary assisted dying. Laura’s Choice is a celebration of life, and for that, I’m beyond grateful that Sam, Cathy, and Laura, all trusted the audience with taking us down this journey.

Laura’s Choice will be screening at the WA Made Film Festival on Saturday, March 13th at 1:30pm. If you cannot attend this screening, then please view Laura’s Choice on ABC when it screens over two nights on March 17th and March 25th.

Please also follow Laura’s Choice on Facebook and Instagram.

Finally, thank you again to Sam Lara and Cathy Henkel for trusting me with this interview. Your words mean more than you will ever know.

If this discussion brings up some feelings that are hard to handle, then please get in contact with Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636).

See also

Andrew F Peirce·February 1, 2023·8 min read

Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Program Director Brad Spolding Talks About Celebrating Visual and Audio Arts with ΩHM: The Festival of Other Music

Support The Curb on Patreon, and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Get in contact with us via our email.

Afterwar Director Birgitte Stærmose Talks About the Nature of Truth in This Interview – The Curb

Ruby O'Sullivan-Belfrage is a writer and critic who works and plays on unceded Wurundjeri land. In the wake of Afterwar’s screening at Sydney Film Festival, Ruby O’Sullivan-Belfrage spoke with director Birgitte Stærmose about the impact she hopes the film has, the nature of truth, and how truly annoying the question of genre can be. Afterwar screened at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival, with a release to come in the future.For more interviews and reviews, visit The Curb.com.au. The Curb is proudly an ad free website and relies on community support to stay active. To support The Curb, visit Patreon.com/thecurbau where you can show your support from as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. Afterwar Director Birgitte Stærmose Talks About the Nature of Truth in This Interview 37:47
2. Stubbornly Here Director Taylor Broadley Talks About Disappearing Teens and Positive Nostalgia in This Interview 54:53
3. Sydney Film Festival: 200% Wolf Director Alexs Stadermann and Star Ilai Swindells on Funny Farts in Films 39:32
4. Sydney Film Festival: Kid Snow Director Paul Goldman on the Allure of a Boxing Drama 23:18
5. Sydney Film Festival – Flathead Director Jaydon Martin on Dismantling the Modern Australian Identity via the Docu-Fiction Experience 54:43

Liked it? Take a second to support The Curb on Patreon