IDFA 2008
The English Surgeon
Geoffrey Smith
England
2007
93 min
What's it like to have God like surgical powers, yet to struggle against your own humanity? What’s it like to try and save a life, and yet to fail? Shot in an Ukrainian hospital full of desperate patients and makeshift equipment, this film is an intimate portrait of neurosurgeon Henry Marsh as he wrestles with the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship. “It’s like selling your soul to the devil, but what can you do? My baby son had a brain tumour and I was desperate for someone to help me. I simply can’t walk away from that need in others”
Credits
Director
Co-production
Bungalow Town Productions
Bungalow Town Productions
Cinematography
Editing
Involved TV Channel
BBC,
POV/PBS,
YLE TV2
BBC,
POV/PBS,
YLE TV2
World Sales
Ro*co Films International
Ro*co Films International
Screening copy
Eyeline Films
Eyeline Films