End Game

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

End Game (2018) weaves together three stories of visionary medical providers who practice on the cutting edge of life and death, helping to change the way we think about both: the palliative care team at UCSF Medical Center, the most sophisticated acute care hospital in Northern California; Zen Hospice Project, a Buddhist-inspired end-of-life residence in a classic San Francisco Victorian; and B.J. Miller, M.D., a physician who understands suffering first-hand and who has worked with both UCSF and Zen Hospice. This core group of caregivers in San Francisco sees end of life differently. They are dedicated to relieving suffering, and to changing the way we think about—and make choices about—how we live our lives as we near life’s end. Their commitment is vividly embodied in their interactions with their terminally ill patients. These intimate and often highly charged emotional moments—with caregivers, patients, and patients’ families and loved ones—are at the heart of End Game.

Credit: Assistant to the directors

AWARDS & HONORS

Nominee

• Academy Awards (2019), Best Documentary Short Subject

• Sundance Film Festival (2018), Short Film Grand Jury Prize