Have you watched a documentary/TV show/film about dying, death or grief?

Documentaries, TV shows, films about death, dying, and grief can help people deal with loss, or learn about the grief experienced by others.

They can provide a way to become more informed about the human experience, to raise questions about the purpose of life, to contemplate the afterlife, or to become more empathetic.

Our recommendations:

Films

Still Life
A mild-mannered civil employee (Eddie Marsan) dedicates his life to tracking down the next-of-kin of and arranging funerals for his community’s unclaimed dead.

Truly, Madly, Deeply
A woman struggles to cope with the death of her lover, only to find that his ghost magically appears and moves back into her flat. When she falls in love with another man, she faces a choice between holding onto the past and facing the future.

Marley and Me
A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.

TV shows

After Life
Tony had a perfect life — until his wife, Lisa, died. After that tragic event, the formerly nice guy changed. After contemplating taking his life, Tony decides he would rather live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes. He thinks of it as a superpower – not caring about himself or anybody else – but it ends up being trickier than he envisioned when his friends and family try to save the nice guy that they used to know.

TV documentaries

We Need to Talk about Death
Dr Kevin Fong makes a personal journey through the moral questions about death that face not just the medical profession, but each and every one of us. The question of how we die is a question that all of us must face, and yet we avoid talking about it. 

Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage
Episode 1: Death
Grayson meets Roch, who has motor neurone disease, and Alison and Kevin, whose son Jordan was killed by a drink-driver, and helps them to devise personalised rituals that fit their situations.

Further support offered by St Nicholas Hospice Care

Gravetalk
Gravetalk is a café space initiative to encourage people to think and talk about life, death, society, funerals and grief. Through conversation, people are encouraged to interact with others in the group.

Bereavement groups
Bereavement groups give people the opportunity to meet regularly with other people who have had similar experiences or concerns. All groups are facilitated by the Family Support team and what is shared remains in confidence within the group.