Tales from the Organ Trade
It is one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine: The saving of a patient by organ transplantation. There is, however, a huge worldwide demand for organs – and not enough donors. Little surprise then, that an extensive black market has developed. In the investigative documentary, we meet the people involved: Doctors, organ dealers, lawyers, patients waiting for an organ, and last but not least, the poverty-stricken people who have little choice but to turn their organs into money. The film reconstructs an illegal organ transplant operation. Beginning with a patient in Toronto, the trail leads back to a middleman in Israel, a doctor hiding in Turkey and ends with a donor in Moldova. The various strands of this documentary are expertly woven by David Cronenberg, Canada’s master of under-the-skin films.
- Genre: DOC: Health & Mental Health
- Country, Year: Canada, 2013
- Runtime: 82 Min
- Languages: Russian, Hebrew, English, Tagalog
- Subtitles: English, German
- Director: Ric Esther Bienstock
- Screenplay: Ric Esther Bienstock
- Cinematography: Michael Ellis, Ken Ng, Frank Vilaca
- Editor: Steve Weslak
- Sound: Toban Mills, Peter Sawade
- Music: John Welsman
- Producers: Ric Esther Bienstock, Felix Golubev, Simcha Jacobovici
- Executive Producers: Simcha Jacobovici, Ric Esther Bienstock
- Production Company: Associated Producers
