Interview with the Directors: Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall

This was a huge project to undertake - in scope, subject matter and time. What inspired you to take it on?

Firstly, Eva, the main subject of the film was a friend of ours. It was difficult to watch someone so young and beautiful fighting for their life. Eva's such a strong person and has so much passion inside her. She strongly believed that if more people were aware about organ donation, and knew about stories like hers, she wouldn't have to be waiting so long for transplant. When we started talking about doing a documentary, she really understood the importance of giving us full access to her life both in the hospital and at home. She trusted us and wanted to be a part of the film, and her circumstances were so incredibly compelling, we knew that we had to tell her story.

After our first few meetings she started opening up to us about how she wasn't able to be around other CF patients because of the fear of spreading infections to one another. She talked about how she had found on the internet a social network where people could post and chat about coping with the disease, in an uncensored forum. After we got a chance to speak with Meg and Kina, Eva's closest online friends, we knew had something really original and different. Having these subjects added a new component to the film – it was no longer just a "sick girl story." It was also a film about friendship.

What kind of response have you had to the film so far?

It's been incredible! The film premiered at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival, which was always a dream for us. And it's amazing how much buzz has been generated through the internet. We have had people from all over the world message us about how they have been moved by just the trailer. CF patients from the US and as far away as Scotland have asked us how they can see the film. It's really important to them because there haven't been a lot of films about CF.

In creating this documentary, you took your subject matter to heart in the way you treated it. Can you talk a little about the process of putting the film together?

There are three characters in the film, and while we always knew Eva's journey would be the driving force and central arc, we wanted to also explore the lives of Meg and Kina. Early on in development we began to talk about how to make the online world visually dynamic and exciting, since it is the only place where the friends are able to connect with each other for the first half of the film. The animation, especially in the opening sequence, helped us to establish the importance of the online community, and later on became a great way of smoothly transitioning between each storyline.

What were the primary challenges of production?

We had no proper funding for the first 6 months of shooting. Our Director of Photography donated his services for free because he believed in the project. With Eva we were constantly worried that her pager would go off, and an even greater concern was that she might not receive a transplant in time to save her life. When we began shooting, British Columbia had one of the lowest donor rates in the country so we were scared that the film would be a documentation of her final decline in health. We had discussed with her family before production certain possible outcomes, and they had agreed to let us keep filming without restrictions, even if Eva passed away. As is the case with documentary, you can't control how things will turn out, so in many ways we adopted Eva's philosophy about staying positive about the future. No matter what, we all knew we wanted the message of the film to be one of hope.

What have you learned while making this film? Both about the issue and the people involved.

We both have learned that organ donation is so important, and that it doesn't just affect old people. There are lots of young people waiting for a second chance at life. The problem is that there just aren't enough people signed up to be donors.

We've also learned how incredibly strong and resilient Cystic Fibrosis patients can be. Watching people who fight every day just to breathe really put things into perspective. We both definitely don't take our health for granted; we've come to see it as a gift.

What do you hope the audience will take away from the film?

After viewing the film, we'd really like for them to run to their computers and sign up to be an organ donor if they aren't already one. As documentary filmmakers, we want our audience to feel like they're getting to see a really intimate portrait of someone's life. You want them to feel connected emotionally with the subjects and the story. Basically you want people to leave the theatre saying "I've never seen anything like that before."

Where does the title come from?

The title 65_RedRoses came from the online name that Eva chose when she became a member of the Cystic Fibrosis social network on the internet. When kids are little and can't pronounce Cystic Fibrosis they are often taught to say "65 Roses" instead. Since Eva's favorite color is red she decided to call herself "65_RedRoses."

What's next for you? Do you have another project in the works?

Nimisha Mukerji is in development on a documentary called "The Coconuts" about second generation South Asians wanting to make it as mainstream artists outside of Bollywood. She is also directing a project which documents the plight of a young Bhutanese refugee who is relocated to Canada.

Philip Lyall is in the middle of developing a one-hour documentary based on Douglas Coupland's City of Glass for Bravo. He is also in development on a feature documentary about America's funniest and eccentric brother and sister entertainer's Amy and David Sedaris. It's aptly called "The Sedaris'"