Grünes Licht

Wer Dr. Spittler zu sich bittet, will sterben. Der Psychiater und Neurologe kommt dann, samt Hund, für ein Vorgespräch vorbei: ein strickjackenbewehrter Sachbearbeiter der Sterbebegleitung mit dem Habitus eines nüchternen Beamten. Der intensive, entschieden wertungsfreie Dokumentarfilm begleitet Spittler bei solchen Sterbeanbahnungsinterviews. Es sind sachliche Auseinandersetzungen mit den letzten Fragen, auch die mentalen Zustände muss er einschätzen. Nur gelegentlich gibt er dann das ersehnte „grüne Licht“ – womit er sich in Deutschland auf juristisch heiklem Terrain bewegt, zwischen Nichtrettungsverfügung, Haftungsausschluss und Totschlag. (Gian-Philip Andreas)

In Anwesenheit von Pavel Cuzuioc und am 22.10. auch von Anna Kirst (Schnitt).

In 2020, the German courts declared that people have the basic right to end their lives, clearing the way for physicians to assist their patients in suicide. But as is often the case with legal decisions, the ruling left many details unclarified, opening doctors up to a host of specific court challenges. The subject of GRÜNES LICHT is Dr. Johann Friedrich Spittler, an 83-year-old doctor who, despite his personal misgivings, believes that helping his patients end their suffering is his moral imperative. In Pavel Cuzuioc’s intimate documentary, we follow Dr. Spittler as he conducts extended interviews with those seeking his help. While some are terminally ill and in constant pain, others fall into a grey area that opens complex questions both for the law and for Spittler himself. Should a hopelessly depressed man be given the doctor’s assurance that if he finally loses the will to live, he can make use of assisted suicide as a last resort? Must Spittler help a grieving mother who only wants to “join” her deceased son? GRÜNES LICHT offers a clear-eyed portrait of a man whose convictions place him at the unenviable junction of medical ethics, jurisprudence and human dignity. (Michael Sicinski)

Pavel Cuzuioc: DIGGING FOR LIFE (2011), RAISA (2015, K), SECONDO ME (2016), PLEASE HOLD THE LINE (2020), COSMOSAPIENS (2023)