Bafta award-winning filmmaker Kevin Toolis grew up on a remote Irish island where death and dying were an everyday part of life. His mother took him to see his first corpse aged seven.
After years war reporting and filmmaking, getting a broad perspective of death in different cultures, Kevin thinks Māori and the Irish have a good approach to it. He’s not morbid, he once took a first date to an Irish wake after a rave.
Kevin has written two acclaimed books on the subject and his TED Talk has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. He’s coming to New Zealand to give a series of talks about the way we discuss death and palliative care, hoping to normalise conversations about it.
Kevin tells Mihingarangi that accepting our mortality is what makes us truly human.
25/09/2024 Author Kevin Toolis photograhed on Dookinella Beach and Minaun Cliffs,Keel, Co. Mayo. Photo: Tom Honan
