In this richly layered creative documentary, artist filmmaker Eanna Mac Cana explores the life of Irish surgeon Denis Burkitt, who discovered Burkitt’s lymphoma, a cancer which Mac Ana himself has survived.

The film combines Mac Cana’s moving diaristic record of his time in hospital being treated for Burkitt’s lymphoma with Dr Burkitt’s own astonishing film & photographic archive from sub-Saharan Africa. The legacy of Dr Denis Burkitt’s medical work holds significance today, affecting the lives of millions worldwide. Through weaving together the parallels and chance events between lives, this remarkable film examines the nonlinear impact of trauma, colonialism and the ethics of medical work through an artistic lens.

Screening on World Cancer Day, this film will be followed by a Q&A with director Éanna Mac Cana.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn.