The Potter's Field

Frozen Dead Guy Days

Invalid date •English

In the quirky mountains of Colorado, people from all over the world gather to throw a party for a frozen dead guy. “Grandpa” died in 1989 and was frozen by his Norwegian grandson who hid him away in a tiny shed along with one other body. The uncovering of the bodies, as well as the controversy that followed, led to an annual celebration of costumed weirdos looking to drink, dance, race coffins, and dive into a frozen lake.

The Self-Made Man

March 2005 •English

Is it ever rational to choose death? On Independence Day at Stern Ranch, 77-year-old solar energy pioneer Bob Stern finds out he’s seriously ill – possibly dying. Meanwhile, an elderly in-law is dying on artificial life support. Bob decides to cheat that fate and take his own life. His family tries to stop him. Bob sets up a video camera. Daughter Susan Stern explores “rational suicide,” the “right-to-die” and the difficult end-of-life choices faced by an aging population.

Michael Mosley: The Doctor Who Changed Britain

June 2024 •English

Michael Mosley transformed the lives of millions of people. In this programme, we look back at an extraordinary broadcasting career which spanned almost 40 years. Fronting series such as Trust Me I’m a Doctor and the hit podcast Just One Thing, Michael used his warm, often funny approach to deliver important, life-changing health messages. He started behind the scenes as an award-winning science journalist and producer, before becoming a much-loved presenter. His programmes have made a lasting impact on the nation’s health habits, from intermittent fasting to the benefits of a cold shower. Michael also shared his own struggles with audiences worldwide. As a chronic insomniac, he made programmes about sleep and, ever curious, he would also go to extremes in the pursuit of science, even infecting himself with a tapeworm. Celebrating Michael’s career, this programme marks the enormous impact he made, touching the lives of so many.

The Reaper

November 2013 •English

Efrain, known as the Reaper, has worked at a slaughterhouse for 25 years. We will discover his deep relationship with death and his struggle to live.

Running for His Life: The Lawrence Phillips Story

December 2016 •English

Feature length documentary examining the troubled life and tragic death of college football standout and talented NFL running back Lawrence Phillips, whose scars of childhood abuse and abandonment haunted him throughout his career.

An Execution by Hanging

July 1898 •English

A depiction in the hanging of Edward Heinson, an assumed criminal assault convict in Jacksonville, Florida.

Anything Can Happen

December 1995 •Polish

A story of life and death, featuring Lozinski's six-year-old son Tomaszek and elderly people spending time on the benches of a Warsaw park. Riding his scooter, Tomaszek asks the elderly very adult, though basic, questions, which they are happy to answer. The boy's ideas of future and life are confronted with those of men at the end of their lives.

Marika's Passing

January 2021 •Finnish

Marika has terminal cancer, with a stomach full of tumors. It’s been 10 months since she was told she has two months to live. Her first goal was to finish the season of Game of Thrones, then to make it to her next birthday. Now at her 50th birthday celebrations, easy discussion revolves around what her next goal might be, and whether or not she should have an open coffin at her funeral. The atmosphere is the opposite of morose, as everyone is laughing and at ease.

Extreme Life & Death: The Blair Witches of Shockumentaries, Part Three

August 2000 •English

A compilation of various accidents, mayhem, death, gore, and human feats caught on tape.

Dermot Morgan - Fearless Funnyman

December 2013 •English

A selection of Dermot Morgan's family, friends, colleagues and admirers, including Pat Shortt, Oliver Callan and Pauline Mc Lynn, look back on the life of the comedian, writer, satirist and actor whose savage wit belied a caring nature and reflect on his place in the annals of comedy greats.

Dearly Departed

December 2006 •English

Hollywood is a hot spot for celebrities, and tour guide Scott Michaels (E!'s "20 Most Horrifying Hollywood Murders," FindADeath.com) knows their, well, haunts. DEARLY DEPARTED is an all-access tour of the "backlots" of L.A. - locations where the most infamous murders, suicides and bizarre crimes involving A-listers have taken place. The Viper Room, the site where "The Black Dahlia" was discovered, and dozens more legendary spots are explored in this funny and equally shocking ride into L.A.'s seedy underground.

Jon Richardson: How to Survive The End of the World

February 2017 •English

Jon Richardson, one of Britain's most cautious men, is sent on a mission by his wife Lucy Beaumont, to investigate the things they are most scared about.

Faces of Death III

March 1985 •English

The third installment of the infamous "is it real or fake?" mondo series sets its sights primarily on serial killers, with lengthy reenactments of police investigations of bodies being found in dumpsters, and a staged courtroom sequence.

The Perfect Circle

January 2013 •Italian

Earth to earth, water to water. The body weight of a newborn child is up to 85 percent water, but in adulthood, the ratio can be cut into half. In a way, people dry up as they grow older. In Claudia Tosi’s documentary, people drink water, watch the rain and wait for their death. The Perfect Circle depicts a man and a woman, Ivano and Meris, who spend their final days at a hospice in the hills of Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy. Their illnesses are in the terminal stage and they know that death is only a matter of time. But the ever-nearing end may fleetingly be forgotten, like when they close their eyes and get lost in the music – until the bodies being carried out next door once again remind them of the inevitable. Death also becomes a part of life for the patients’ loved ones, who want to spend the last available moments with the soon to be departed.

Merci, au revoir, je t’aime

April 2022 •French

After Death

October 2023 •English

Based on real near-death experiences, the afterlife is explored with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists and survivors who shed a light on what awaits us.

21 Days

January 2014 •English

21 Days, based on the story of six young fishermen who left Gros-Islet fishing village on a routine fishing expedition and simply vanished. The young men disappeared on February 15, 1985, after they set out on a fishing expedition.

By the River

March 2021 •English

Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.

The Grass Dwellers

November 2022 •Spanish

Juan Méndez Bernal leaves his house on the 9th of april of 1936 to fight in the imminent Spanish Civil War. 83 years later, his body is still one of the Grass Dwellers. The only thing that he leaves from those years on the front is a collection of 28 letters in his own writing.

Now That the Sun Begins to Set

September 2022 •Spanish

Rafaela, an 80-year-old woman, has a long conversation with her grandson, going over his path from childhood to old age. Now that she has been diagnosed with chronic breast cancer, faith is more present in her life than ever, which coexists with Rafaela's fear of death, and her grandson's fear of dying.