One Big Bag

A millennial death doula introduces us to the world of end-of-life care. With a matter-of-fact demeanor and intense physicality, she guides us into the largely uncharted waters of corpse care—practical, political, and spiritual. She performs her knowledge within a field of props that are the tools of her trade, kept in a “mobile corpse kit”—everyday items that she manipulates to profound use. The film, drawn from workshops, research, and interviews conducted with several end-of-life doulas from different cultural backgrounds, is a skill share, threaded with humor, grief, unknowing, and a desire for justice. The doula’s work encourages us to turn towards that which we strive so hard to avoid.

Every Ocean Hughes (EOH), f.k.a. Emily Roysdon, is a transdisciplinary artist and writer. EOH was editor and co-founder of the queer feminist journal and artist collective, LTTR. Collaborations include music with The Knife, Colin Self, and JD Samson & MEN; costume design for choreographers Levi Gonzalez, Vanessa Anspaugh, Faye Driscoll, and the band Le Tigre. EOH’s work was featured in international biennials and group exhibitions and in solo exhibitions. From 2019 to 2020 EOH was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and from 2021 to 2022 EOH has been the Sachs Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Production Madeleine Molyneaux, Every Ocean Hughes. Production companies Picture Palace Pictures (New York, USA), Every Ocean Hughes (New York, USA). Written and directed by Every Ocean Hughes. Cinematography Sarah Tricker. Editing Kersti Grunditz Brennan. Music Sarah Hennies. Sound design Lynne Trepanier. Production design Every Ocean Hughes. Costumes Montana Levi Blanco. Assistant director JD Samson. Choreography Miguel Guitierrez. With Lindsay Rico. 

Films

2005: social movement (7 min.), POW (2 min.). 2006: Living the Sacrifice (7 min.). 2009: A Motion Picture (23 min.). 2010: Sense and Sense (video installation15 min.). 2012: I am a Helicopter, Camera, Queen (34 min.), Our Short Century (10 min.). 2021: One Big Bag.