Defining Hope (2017)
We aren't dying the way we used to. We have ventilators, dialysis machines, ICUs-technologies that can "fix" us and keep our bodies alive-which have radically changed how we make medical decisions. In our death-denying culture, no matter how sick we get, there is always "hope." Defining Hope tells the story of patients dealing with life-threatening illness as they move between ICUs, operating rooms, hospice care and home. Diane is a nurse caring for end-stage cancer patients when she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer herself. 23-year-old Alena undergoes a risky brain surgery that destroys her short-term memory. 95-year-old Berthold lives with his elderly wife who struggles to honor his wish of dying peacefully at home. Defining Hope follows these patients and others- and the nurses that guide them along the way- as they face death, embrace hope, and ultimately redefine what makes life worth living.
Director: Carolyn Jones
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Rudolph Bilotti Sr. as Self |
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Berthold Cohen as Self |
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Charlotte Cohen as Self |
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Carmen Hernandez as Self |
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Deborah LaFond as Self - Nurse |
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JoAnn Nayer-Grutza as Self - Nurse |
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Gilbert Oakley as Self - Nurse |
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Diane Ryan as Self - Nurse |
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Barbara Stephenson as Self |
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Alena Sydnor as Self |
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Carole Bailey as Self |
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Nina Marrero as Self |
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Raoul Marrero as Self |
| Camera | Jaka Vinšek | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Candace Thompson | Editor |
| Directing | Lisa Frank | Assistant Director |
| Production | Jeannie Patz Blaustein | Executive Producer |
| Production | Carolyn Jones | Executive Producer |
| Production | Kate Judge | Executive Producer |
| Editing | Laura Israel | Editor |
| Production | Anna Rooney | Associate Producer |
| Production | Lisa Frank | Producer |
| Editing | Chelsea A. Smith | Editor |
| Sound | Marc Ribot | Original Music Composer |
| Directing | Carolyn Jones | Director |
