In ‘A Fly on the Wall’, a man plans his exit from life and a film is born

A Fly on the Wall has two official directors and a third unofficial creator. The names of Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar in the credits are followed by that of Chika Kapadia, who gave life to the documentary through his death.

Kapadia was Bose’s friend for close to three decades. In 2022, Kapadia learnt that he was in the final stage of a rare form of cancer.

Given mere months to live, Kapadia decided to seek assisted suicide at Dignitas, the medical organisation in Switzerland aimed at people with terminal ailments or severe mental illnesses. Kapadia told Bose that only did he want her to document what he called his “going away party”, but also the moment when he took his last breath. Bose and Maniyar accompanied Kapadia on his journey to the Digintas centre in Zurich, their cameras constantly in filming mode.

Given Kapadia’s consent to – and insistence on – being filmed, A Fly on the Wall doesn’t have the apparent tensions that typically arise in documentaries. However, challenges appear after the makers agree to go along with Kapadia’s plan.

In particular, Bose is conflicted about fulfilling her dear friend’s last wish while also maintaining her ethical standards. Bose addresses her dilemmas to the camera, confessing that she is torn between...

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