A Very Easy Death
Named after Simone de Beauvoir’s 1964 memoir, this dreamlike, experimental montage muses on bereavement.
Fifty years ago, Mary Stephen used her editor’s sensibility to meditate poetically on her mother’s death through still images, 16mm film and song. Hilda emerges in oneiric archival glimpses: her stylish youth; waltzing at home with Mary’s young-adult brother; the achingly empty hospital room where she died. Her daughter’s hand intrudes into the frame in a yearning, impossible caress. Originally, Stephen made only four copies of this short for her siblings, but this generous 2025 restoration shares her memories with everyone.
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