Shot in Washington State in 2019, the film follows unexpectedly funny 65 year old Jewish New Yorker Bob who decides to end his own life after years of living with Parkinson’s disease and is a unique and impeccably crafted piece of documentary cinema.

Bob has lived fearlessly – he snuck off to Woodstock at 15, hung out with Blondie and the Sex Pistols and ended up designing bathrooms for Elton John, Janet Jackson and Versace. But when we meet him, Bob is being cared for by one of his sons. Trapped in a world of pain and unrelenting movement, he has decided to utilise the Death with Dignity law.

With Bob’s working-class irreverence and infectious outlook on life guiding the overarching tragedy of his circumstances, Courtin-Wilson’s film offers a powerful and unprecedented depiction of voluntary dying. The film blends a real time observational documentary style following a countdown of Bob’s last days with highly intimate direct to camera interviews.

Given the opportunity to tell his story in the last week of his life, Bob’s lust for life, love and the universe leads audiences through a symphony of emotion, stories and passion that is palpable and deeply immersive.

Informed by Herzog’s edict “We must create new images or perish”, MAN ON EARTH depicts an actual death on screen in a compassionate and contemplative manner and is the opposite of what you expect from a documentary about the last seven days of someone’s life. Bob’s incandescent passion and honesty will change how you live your life. MAN ON EARTH is a cinematic journey with an unforgettable human being. Bob will stay with you forever.

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