GHFF2023 Pay Or Die

Pay Or Die (2023)

Directed by Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer, 75 mins

International Premiere

In-person: Saturday 02 December 12:15, Wellcome Collection, Euston Road

Video-on-demand watch window: Sunday 03 December 19:00 GMT - Tuesday 05 December 21:00 GMT

Passes and single tickets for films available on demand here!

"Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world"

(Sir Frederick Banting, co-inventor of insulin who sold his right to the patent for $1 in 1923.)

The US healthcare system is the most expensive in the world and close to half of all Americans reportedly struggle to pay for their healthcare. Pay Or Die explores the crushing financial reality for millions of insulin dependent Americans living with diabetes, as pharmaceutical companies push the price of this life saving medication to exorbitant levels, making record breaking profits. This is only further bolstered by the government’s lack of regulation.

Pay Or Die voices the stories of families struggling to afford their life saving medications in one of the richest countries in the world, The United States of America. 

The film trails a distraught Minnesota family desperate for answers after their son Alec dies at the age of 26 from rationing his insulin only weeks after aging off his parents' health insurance. In Oregon, a mother and daughter who both live with type one diabetes become homeless due to the exorbitant cost of their medication and are forced to join the plight of medical refugees who are leaving the US to source affordable medication in other countries. A newly diagnosed woman highlights the physical and emotional toll she faces whilst unable to grasp the dire economic reality that lies ahead. 

This enraging and enlightening film lays bare the human cost of the United States’ insulin affordability crisis, and serves as a call to action against the medical-industrial complex that monetizes our bodies and lives.

Panel discussion

The discussion after the screening was moderated by documentary journalist, programmer, and lecturer Carol Nahra. Carol was joined by co-director Rachael Dyer, and by Bruna Amaral from T1International.