A Lion in the House Directed by Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert , 2006
"A FILM OF QUIET, ALMOST INCALCULABLE POWER. “A Lion in the House" is one of those experiences that leave a viewer with a profoundly enriched awareness of life's fragility and our own unexpected strength.” Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
An intense and deeply moving film, A LION IN THE HOUSE enters the lives of five American families who each have a child battling cancer. Having fought the disease with their own daughter—and having been granted unprecedented access to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital—filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert follow these children and teens through years of treatment and uncertainty.
This multi award-winning documentary chronicles the arduous daily realities of the children and their families through hospital meetings, counseling sessions, personal interviews, and numerous encounters between parents and doctors, offering an acutely intimate glimpse into the long-term struggles of both patients and caregivers. It captures the agonizing decision-making processes that surround experimental treatments; the challenges of reclaiming life and normalcy in the aftermaths of the disease; and, most difficult of all, the moral and emotional turmoil of determining how far one can go in fighting for a child’s life when there is little chance of survival.
Despite narrating a harrowing and often heartbreaking journey, A LION IN THE HOUSE resounds with the vitality of the children determined to keep their spirits unbroken, the inestimable strength of their families, and the incredible resilience of the human heart.
Bonus Features
Deleted Scenes; Interview with filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Making THE LION IN THE HOUSE; Lions on the Road; Filmmakers Bios
Awards:
2008 Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media: Council on Foundations; 2007 Primetime Emmy Award: Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking; 2007 Independent Spirit Awards: Nominee, Best Documentary; 2006 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Documentary Competition / Finalist, Grand Jury Prize; 2006 Toronto Hot Docs Film Festival: Winner of Audience Award for Best Documentary; 2006 Full Frame Film Festival: Winner of Special Jury Citation; 2006 Nashville Film Festival: Winner of Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Documentary; 2006 Cleveland International Film Festival: Winner of Special Jury Prize; 2006 International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA)
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Awards
2008 Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media: Council on Foundations; 2007 Primetime Emmy Award: Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking; 2007 Independent Spirit Awards: Nominee, Best Documentary; 2006 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Documentary Competition / Finalist, Grand Jury Prize; 2006 Toronto Hot Docs Film Festival: Winner of Audience Award for Best Documentary; 2006 Full Frame Film Festival: Winner of Special Jury Citation; 2006 Nashville Film Festival: Winner of Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Documentary; 2006 Cleveland International Film Festival: Winner of Special Jury Prize; 2006 International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA)
Reviews
“Most of us have seen nothing like this in our lives and will give thanks if, off screen, we never do. Yet it is A TRANSFORMING PIECE OF CINEMA.”
-- Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
"RICHLY REWARDING. A documentary of STUPENDOUS POWER."
- Dorothy Rabinowitz, The Wall Street Journal
“ASTONISHING. IMMENSELY REWARDING. The old adage that no great movie is too long applies in spades to "A Lion in the House.” Such a remarkable series of profiles in courage, and in the human will to live, that pic's cumulative effect is nothing short of humbling, cathartic and even euphoric.”
-- Scott Foundas, Variety
“HEARTBREAKING and INDELIBLE.”
- Tom Gliatto, People Magazine
“ESSENTIAL VIEWING. NO LESS THAN A REDEFINITION, AND A NECESSARY COMPLICATION, OF HEROISM ITSELF.”
-- Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
“A PROFOUNDLY ILLUMINATING and UPLIFTING VIEWING EXPERIENCE.
A REMARKABLE and DEEPLY MOVING DOCUMENTARY. The reward of trusting oneself to such skilled filmmakers is that one leaves the film feeling more INTENSELY ALIVE -- as well as more deeply connected and concerned about others.
-- David Zurawik, Baltimore Sun
“A FILM THAT STANDS ALONGSIDE “HOOP DREAMS” AND THE WORK OF FREDERICK WISEMAN.
-- Marc Mohan, The Oregonian
“A Lion in the House is nothing less than a work of towering human empathy, and goes further in uniting its audience in one conjoined emotional experience than any other film I’ve ever seen.”
- Michael Koresky, Cinemascope
“A REMARKABLE and IMMERSIVE NEW DOCUMENTARY. What also emerges is a snapshot of America now; these different children – black and white, rich and poor – and their disease together act as mirrors on racial divisions, economic rifts, personal ambitions, collective hopes, deep-rooted fears and the routines of normal life made obvious by abnormal circumstances. A LION IN THE HOUSE presents the unthinkable and the unforeseen plainly, uncensored and sensitively thanks to an enormous investment of time and intelligence.
-- Dave Calhoun, Time Out London
©2006 A Lion in the House LLC. Art and Design ©2008 New Video Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Marketed and distributed in the U.S. by New Video.
Posted in Docurama, Social Issues | Tagged emmy, family, genre: documentary, health care, illness, Sundance Film Festival
