The English Surgeon
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Geoffrey Smith
Marian Dolishny
Dr. Henry Marsh
Igor Kurilets
Darrell Briggs
Nick Cave
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Henry is one of London's foremost brain surgeons, but despite being a pioneer in his field he stills rides an old pushbike to work and worries himself sick about the damage he can inflict on his patients. "When push comes to shove we can afford to lose an arm or a leg, but I am operating on people's thoughts and feelings and if something goes wrong I can destroy that person's character forever". Driven by the need to help others where he can, Henry has been going out to Kyiv for over 15 years to help improve upon the medieval brain surgery he witnessed there during his first visit in 1992. Today the patients see him as the great savior from the West, desperate parents want him to save their child, and his Ukrainian colleague Igor Kurilets sees him as a guru and a benefactor. But for all the direct satisfaction he gets from going, Henry also sees grossly misdiagnosed patients, children who he can't save, and a lack of equipment and trained supporting staff. "It's like selling your soul to the devil, but what can you do? My son had a brain tumor as a baby and I was desperate for someone to help me. I simply can't walk away from that need in others".
Director
Geoffrey Smith
Crew
Darrell Briggs
Nick Cave
Graham Day
Warren Ellis
Slava Feofilaktov
Sally Jo Fifer
Nick Fraser
Anatoly Gagramanov
Gerard Mccann
Kathy O'shea
Shreepali Patel
Greg Sanderson
Geoffrey Smith
Rachel Wexler
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Nominated for the 2009 award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary by the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Winner of the award for Best International Feature Documentary at the 2008 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.
Winner of the Sterling World Feature Award at the 2008 SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival.
Released in United States Summer July 24, 2009
Released in United States July 31, 2009
Released in United States 2008
Released in United States April 2008
Released in United States June 2008
Released in United States October 2008
Released in United States January 2009
Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (Documentaries) April 24-May 8, 2008.
Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival (Nonfiction Features of 2008) September 25-October 10, 2008.
Shown at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival (International Spectrum) April 17-27, 2008.
Shown at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival June 16-23, 2008.
Shown at Hamptons International Film Festival (World Cinema) October 15-19, 2008.
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (True Stories) January 6-19, 2009.
Released in United States Summer July 24, 2009 (NY, LA)
Released in United States July 31, 2009 (Los Angeles)
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (Documentaries) April 24-May 8, 2008. )
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival (Nonfiction Features of 2008) September 25-October 10, 2008.)
Released in United States April 2008 (Shown at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival (International Spectrum) April 17-27, 2008.)
Released in United States June 2008 (Shown at SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival June 16-23, 2008.)
Released in United States October 2008 (Shown at Hamptons International Film Festival (World Cinema) October 15-19, 2008.)
Released in United States January 2009 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (True Stories) January 6-19, 2009.)
