The last wish of a palliative care patient was to see Dune: Part Two. When Denis Villeneuve found out, he provided him with a special movie experience.
A man in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec was in a palliative care center. As his final wish, the film fan expressed that he wanted to see Dune: Part Two before he died.
However, the official film premiere was not until the end of February, and since it was unknown how much time the patient had left, quick action was needed.
He shared his wish with Josée Gagnon, who took care of him and supported patients in the dying process. She then posted a call on Facebook announcing the patient’s last wish.
In fact, someone who could help responded. Sébastien Pilote, a Canadian director, knew the Dune director and facilitated the contact.
“He is at the end of his life, there is no way to move him”
Denis Villeneuve then invited the patient to Los Angeles, but there was a problem, as Gagnon told Radio Canada in an interview:
Denis Villeneuve and his wife Tanya, who is a producer, said: ‘OK, we could bring him to Los Angeles.’ I said: ‘You don’t understand, he is at the end of his life, there is no way to move him. We don’t even know if he will still be here next week.’
Another solution had to be found. So the director had an idea: Since the patient was unable to attend the premiere in Los Angeles, he would simply bring the premiere to the patient in Quebec.
So his assistant set off for Quebec and brought Villeneuve’s laptop with him.
“They locked themselves in a room at the Maison de soins palliatifs [the palliative center]… and this man managed to watch the film alone,” Gagnon recounted.
All involved in the action had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that they would not disclose anything in advance about the film.
“It’s for the man who said before he died, I want to see this film”
The special film premiere of Dune Part: Two took place more than a month ago, in January 2024.
The patient fell asleep towards the end of the film but was able to see a large part of Dune 2. He has since passed away.
As Gagnon recounted, some involved in the action saw it as a defeat because the man was never able to see the end of the film.
However, she saw it differently: “You don’t understand, it’s extraordinary what this man went through. The end of a film, when you are dying, means nothing… it was all there for him.”
According to her statement, Villeneuve and Lapointe said: “It’s for him, it’s for this man that we make films, it’s for the man who said before he died, I want to see this film.”
