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65_Redroses which comes from sixty-five roses, how she learned to say cystic fibrosis when she was a young child. Eva is twenty-three and she has cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disorder which means her lungs cannot clear mucus. She is one of the lucky ones, though, because she lives in New Westminster, BC with her close family where she has access to excellent health care. She has made the decision to await a double lung transplant which may prolong her life but the surgery could also cause her death.
To help her through the tough times she relies on people who understand what it’s like, other young women with CF. Because of the possibility of transmitting superbugs to each other, CF patients can’t meet in person so face-to-face support groups are impossible. Kira is a transplant recipient in Pennsylvania living now with chronic rejection. Meg is a teenager in Portland who has all the odds stacked against her – a lousy health care system, little access to resources and no support network besides an older boyfriend she met on myspace (yeah, sketchy). Eva does receive the transplant call and the resulting surgery is an emotional journey for her friends and family and also for the audience who did not know her half an hour earlier. 65_Redroses is the very best kind of documentary - focused, probing and subtle. It is real life and while it tells a dramatic and uplifting story it also asks important questions about who has access to health and quality of life. Bring a tissue.
It already has a lot of buzz and some screenings are sold out. Try rush tickets for Oct 9th and 10th. A new one has been added for Oct 13th at 11am.