Eva Markvoort is a fighter. In her early 20’s, she is suffering through the advanced stages of Cystic Fibrosis, a debilitating disease which has landed her on the top of the waiting list for a double lung transplant. Eva’s not alone, she has a support group of family and friends but it helps to know that someone else has been in the same situation you’re in and made it through but for CF patients, support networks are a little more difficult to manage since patients suffering from the illness are required to stay apart in fear of transmitting super bugs to each other. Enter the internet and Eva’s online life as 65_RedRoses.

The documentary, directed by first time directors Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall, picks up when Eva is put on the transplant list. The filmmakers were granted full access to Eva, her family and the hospital, enabling them to capture both the good and bad days in Eva’s life. We get to see Eva run the gamut of emotions, the ups and downs of her illness, but what is most impressive is her ability to stay positive through the worst of it.
A testament to both herself and the human will to survive, this is the sort of story you can’t bear to watch yet can’t take your eyes off of.

For all it has going for it, 65_RedRoses isn’t the perfect documentary. The film ends with a statistic that is not explained or elaborated and beyond that, it misses the opportunity of exploring the importance of social networking for patients suffering from debilitating illness. Regardless of its faults, the documentary has more than enough heart to carry it through – all of it thanks to Eva whose infectious exuberance even in the most dire of times, is intoxicating. It’s impossible not to feel for her and want to go out of your way to help her in any way possible. She is an amazing young woman and her tale of fighting and survival is inspiring.

As one of the festival’s most popular films, 65_RedRoses will be screening as part of the “VIFF Repeats”. Full details and schedule at VIFF. During the Q&A it was also announced that the film will have it’s TV premiere in November on CBC’s “The Passionate Eye.”