I really don’t know why this movie didn’t get more acclaim.  It was pretty damn awesome. But finding any follow up news took a little digging.  Which is a shame.   But I’m used to documentaries not getting as much love as feature films.

I have to say I’m quite partial to them, it’s one of my favorite genres of film.

I couldn’t find “Over My Dead Body” on very many places to stream.  I happen to come across it on Vimeo and then could only rent it ($2.50 for 48 hours).  But it was well worth the rental.

I loved this documentary for as raw & real as it was.   Dave St-Pierre is a well-known dancer & choreographer in Quebec so it was interesting seeing his worlds collide.   As his Cystic Fibrosis became worse & took a toll on his lungs he had to give up dance, but yet was able to choreograph productions.

(I think it’s a shame that this film was not part of the U.S. Festival circuit.  I think it might have done well.  It did make Hot Docs along with another documentary I love that was well received, Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry).

His journey is a snapshot of not only his health but of his art. I really appreciated the balance in both.  This is no doubt due to one of his friends & creative partners, (Brigitte Poupart) being the film maker that helped him bring this work to life.   The film was released in 2012.

If nudity is a bothersome thing to you, then perhaps there are people who won’t like this documentary.  But the nudity is there only because many of this artist’s productions are done in the nude, & it actually makes them more powerful to view.

I’ll admit, this was tough to watch at points, but in a good way.   So much of this film resonated with me.  I loved how open & vulnerable he was throughout the entire film. It really was like peeking into his life.

I had to look on IMDB and do some digging to find out what happened to St-Pierre after his transplant & find his current website.

It appears he is still doing dancing & choreography & has some future work planned for this year & next if one looks under the shows section there.

It should be noted that in 2009, before his transplant, he did turn his life into a solo piece.  From the snippets I saw interwoven into the documentary I’m not sure I agree with this review on it as they were pretty powerful glimpses into his artistry.

I think I would have rather enjoyed being a fly on that wall for one night of those two weeks.  I’m glad a few reviewers did write about it (even if I don’t agree with their reviews) so I knew he also brought a bit of his life to the stage & could catch a few more glimpses of them.