Palliative / Dying in Your Mother's Arms

Palliative follows Dr. Nadia Tremonti as she helps families to ease the passing of their terminally ill children. Her role as a pediatric palliative care physician extends well beyond providing end-of-life care, easing the suffering of both her patients and their families. Our human aversion to discussing death has made the job of these healthcare professionals even more delicate as they advise parents through their heartbreaking situation while also treating their patients.

It’s not easy. But as a pediatric palliative care physician, she works to ensure that terminally ill children receive quality end-of-life care. Palliative care is sometimes misunderstood to shorten life expectancy, but it’s a method that increases quality of life, improves symptom burden and decreases medical costs. We follow Dr. Tremonti in the short documentary above as she works to make death less medical and more human. In the process she asks a critical question: When a child is terminally ill, how can we make the end of life a better one?

Status: Streaming on The New York Times

World Premiere: Denver Film Festival