LAST SUPPER / 2006 / 52' / SD /

Directed by Bigert and Bergström

With the precision of a deftly wielded surgical tool, Last Supper explores the practice of granting prisoners on death row the right to choose a final meal to be set down before them in the hours before execution. It’s a ritualistic gesture of mercy that occurs, with variations, in an astonishing array of cultures.

Presenting startling, often macabre imagery with a cool formalism and making inventive use of a disquieting soundtrack, directors Bigert & Bergström delve into the histories of the practice and hear stories from prison guards and former prisoners in the United States, South Africa, Japan and the Philippines. Particularly eloquent is a tough-looking Texan inmate turned chef, who, in preparing last meals for over 200 death row prisoners, has had plenty of time to think about what it all means.

Bigert & Bergström’s attitude to the hypocrisy of the chivalrous gesture is unequivocal from the outset, but the wealth of last-supper lore they’ve turned up makes it very clear that it’s not just Texas that’s under the knife; it’s humanity.

Territories sold: Poland, Sweden, Italy, Iran, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, Israel, USA

Screener/Online viewing link available on request here

Please click on any image below to view a teaser segment