65_RedRoses, a new documentary from co-directors Philip Lyall and Nimisha Mukerji, revolves around Eva Markvoort, who suffers from an incurable and fatal illness called cystic fibrosis. Eva is anxiously awaiting a double lung transplant but knows her chance of dying before it can be performed is extremely high. Although Eva could die before a suitable donor is found, she’s considerably upbeat. Eva’s only solace is an online community she stumbled upon, one created by fellow cystic fibrosis sufferers. She’s known online as 65_REDROSES, which is a reference to her favorite color and the fact she couldn’t pronounce cystic fibrosis properly as a child. This documentary tells about the bond Eva develops with Kina Boyce, a.k.a Spirit_of_Kina, and Meg Moore, a.k.a megmucus, after reading their online diaries. Directors Lyall and Mukerji capture the strength of that bond by focusing on the plight of all three young women in their film. Many thanks to these thoughtful filmmakers for participating in the following e-mail interview about their documentary.

QUESTION: Where did you get the idea for 65_RedRoses?

Lyall and Mukerji: The idea for 65_RedRoses began when our friend Eva Markvoort, who had a fatal genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis, was put onto the wait list for an organ transplant. At 23 years old, she needed a double lung transplant to live, and both of us were completely amazed by how she was managing to handle her situation with so much grace and optimism. Not only was she beautiful, smart and facing death but she couldn’t talk with other CF patients because of the fear of spreading infection. So when Eva told us that she had found an online networking group where she had formed real friendships with other people who had her disease, we knew we had discovered an unlikely story that had never been told before.

QUESTION : Meg’s boyfriend Marko mentions that a lot of people she thought were her friends faded into the background when they found out how ill she was. Why do you think someone would cease friendship with an individual who is suffering from an incurable disease?

Lyall and Mukerji:  Some people just aren’t strong enough to be involved in the life of a CF patient. People with the illness have a lot of restrictions on what they can and can’t do, especially when their condition gets more serious and they end up living for long periods of time in the hospital. It’s funny how many people are actually afraid of hospitals, and if you ask most people they’ll say they’re afraid of death. For Eva, Meg and Kina, death is something they are constantly facing straight on. For some people, that makes them uncomfortable. They’re afraid of becoming too close to someone they might lose.

QUESTION: Can you explain what chronic rejection is and elaborate on how it affects lung transplant recipients like Kina?

Lyall and Mukerji: Chronic rejection is when the body begins to recognize the transplanted organs as a foreign object and begins to actively attack them. For Kina, it means having to take medication and watch her lung function begin to decline all over again. She has had to continue doing physio and making regular visits to her hospital. Having chronic rejection unfortunately decreases a recipient’s chances of survival. Rejection is different for everyone but it’s something all transplant recipients want to avoid.   

QUESTION:  Meg’s health continues to decline throughout the film. What is her current status?

Lyall and Mukerji: Meg is really having a hard time accepting her illness, and as a result tends to put herself in situations that are pretty self-destructive. She continues to lead the unhealthy lifestyle that we show in the film, but is now back in contact with Eva. The two girls actually met for the first time while Eva was on a recent road trip. After talking in person they’ve become even closer friends. Eva thinks that being a part of the film has made Meg realize that she can have a positive impact on the world around her, and that there are a lot of people who really care about her future and want to support her.

QUESTION: What was the hardest part of making this film?

Lyall and Mukerji: Not knowing when or if Eva would survive the wait for an organ donor or transplant surgery! It was really scary to see her getting sicker and sicker, and she was fighting so hard to live. We didn’t want the film to end with a funeral, so that was a fear we harbored from the very first day of filming.

QUESTION: How difficult was it to stay objective as a filmmaker and not let any of the tragic circumstances constantly unfolding around you bother you at the end of the day?

Lyall and Mukerji: When we began shooting Eva she was the sickest she’d ever been. She was so close to death that we knew it could only get better IF her pager went off for transplant. She was a friend of ours when we started shooting so there were a lot of hard days, for sure. It was when we were by ourselves at home and not behind a camera that the things we’d witnessed or heard while shooting would hit home, and there were definitely times we got emotional in private. But Eva had no question in her mind that she would be given new lungs…it was just a matter of time! Because of her incredibly positive outlook, we were convinced of it as well. Being objective while we were shooting was actually never a real issue, because as directors we knew we had a job to do -- and we’d promised Eva, Kina and Meg that the film was going to be intimate and honest, so we were committed to being professional and staying true to our vision.

(Released by Force Four Entertainment Inc. Not rated by MPAA.)

65_RedRoses is one of 170 films showing at the Hot Docs 2009 Festival. For more information, please visit the Festival’s official site by clicking here.