There is a Door, There

(Hay una puerta ahí)

Juan Ponce de León, Facundo Ponce de León / Spain, Uruguay / 2024 / 79 min
There Is a Door, There There Is a Door, There There Is a Door, There There Is a Door, There
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  • Academy Awards

    Uruguay's Official Submission for Best Foreign Film

  • San Sebastián International Film Festival

  • Málaga Film Festival

  • Havana Film Festival

  • Int'l Film Festival of Uruguay

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Spanish with English subtitles

With Fernando Sureda, Enric Benito, Inés Aldecoa, Fernando Sureda Jr., Salvador Sureda

There is a Door, There is a moving documentary that chronicles the profound friendship between two men brought together by mortality, distance, and resilience. Across the ocean and through the isolating conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fernando Sureda — a renowned Uruguayan accountant and leading advocate for the legalization of euthanasia — connects virtually with Dr. Enric Benito, an oncologist and honorary member of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care.

What begins as a series of conversations evolves into a deep bond, as Enric accompanies Fernando in his final journey. Humor, pain, family, beliefs, and the meaning of life and death intertwine in their dialogue, offering a rare, intimate perspective on human dignity and end-of-life care.

Directed by Juan Ponce de León and Facundo Ponce de León, There is a Door, There is both a testament to friendship in extraordinary times and an urgent reflection on palliative medicine, euthanasia, and the ethical questions surrounding death in contemporary society. The film invites scholars, students, and general audiences alike to engage with pressing debates on mortality, compassion, and the right to die.

Press

“The Door is There is not a downbeat film. Benito and Fernando even engage in humor. ” – World Press Reviews

“A documentary about euthanasia and palliative care, but also about a transformative friendship, capable of changing one’s perception of life in its final days.” – Emiliano Basile, Escribiendocine.com

About the Director

Juan Ponce de León possesses a sensitivity in his narrative that has earned him recognition at both national and international levels. His direction in documentary films, television creations, and short films features a distinctive style. With a profound perspective, he creates moving atmospheres and composes shots that make the viewer feel as if they are inside his films.

Born in 1985 in Montevideo and graduated from the School of Film of Uruguay as a director and editor, he has produced multiple TV programs, directed documentaries, and participated in various fictional works. The quality of his creations has made him the preferred director for prestigious brands looking to produce high-quality narrative branded content. Juan is part of a new generation of Uruguayan directors who have made their mark on the world and have already received recognition.

Facundo Ponce de León is a Uruguayan filmmaker, philosopher, and journalist known for his documentary work. He co-directed and wrote the documentary There is a Door, There (2024), which explores the relationship between Dr. Enric Benito and his patient Fernando Sureda, touching on themes of pain, euthanasia, and human connection. The film was Uruguay’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards and was screened at major festivals including Málaga, San Sebastián, and Havana.

Born in Montevideo in 1978, Ponce de León holds degrees in philosophy and communication sciences, as well as a doctorate in philosophy from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He is also president of the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU) since 2023. Alongside his brother Juan, he founded the production company Mueca Films in 2011, producing documentaries internationally.

Notes on Film

“Fernando has ALS and wants euthanasia. He fights to pass the law in Uruguay and to be the first to apply it. Along the way, on October 20, 2019, he had a Zoom chat with Enric Benito, a Spanish doctor specialized in palliative care. Life had one last surprise in store for them, a new friendship and a final journey that no one imagined.

Through the nine months of virtual meetings between Fernando and Enric, There is a Door, There reveals the transformation that both go through, through a new look at reality and a new way of understanding life, and how suffering and the process of dying give rise to a level of acceptance, gratitude, and detachment, absolutely far removed from the perspective from which Fernando started.

The thread of all these crossed conversations is difficult to reconstruct, but the objective is clear and is always the same: that Fernando learns how to die.

Fernando and Enric realize that the recorded material could be useful for other people who have to go through similar processes. And it is thanks to that intuition that they organized the material and gave it to us to make a film.

Fernando died on September 3, 2020. The last thing he said, already in a trance, was: ‘There is a door, there. ‘

Two years later, Enric was able to travel to Uruguay to meet with the family, friends, and health personnel who cared for Fernando.”

– Facundo Ponce de León and Juan Ponce de León, directors

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