Documentary backdrop image for Sending Off (2019)

Documentary backdrop image for Sending Off (2019)

201979 minPGdocumentary

Sending Off

201979 minPGdocumentary

In rural Japan, Dr. Kaoru Konta and her nursing team offer hospice care, revealing the emotional challenges families face at the end of life.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

In rural Japan, Dr. Kaoru Konta and her nursing team offer hospice care, revealing the emotional challenges families face at the end of life.

People

Ian Thomas Ashdirector

Synopsis

Dr. Kaoru Konta and her team of nurses provide hospice care to patients in their homes across rural Japan. As patients approach the end of their lives, the film captures the evolving relationships they share with their families. The narrative unfolds in intimate settings, revealing the emotional complexities of saying goodbye. Over 79 minutes, the documentary presents a candid look at the challenges and moments of connection that arise during this critical phase of life.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey (1996)

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey

1996•1h30m•★7.0TMDB

Hospice care provides terminally ill patients and their families with comfort and support, preparing them for the emotional challenges of end-of-life transitions.

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners (2023)

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners

In Japan, 40,000 people die alone each year, prompting a specialized cleaning company to address the aftermath and highlight the issue of Lonely Death.

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners

The Good Death (2018)

The Good Death

Janette, terminally ill with muscular dystrophy, chooses physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland, prompting deep family discussions about life and autonomy.

The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Journey (2024)

The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Journey

A devoted daughter provides compassionate care for her father, George Manos, as he faces the challenges of living with dementia.

The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Journey

Japan first the rest will follow (2026)

Japan first the rest will follow

Japan's aging population, with 36 million citizens over 65, faces societal challenges addressed through innovative community care models in Tokyo and Kiryu City.

Japan first the rest will follow

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia (2024)

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia

In Japan, approximately 40,000 individuals die alone each year, prompting a rise in demand for specialized cleaning services that address the aftermath of these lonely deaths.

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia

Work until you're 100 - Japan's Incredible Life Expectancy (2016)

Work until you're 100 - Japan's Incredible Life Expectancy

Japan, the oldest nation, addresses its rapidly ageing population and life expectancy secrets.

Work until you're 100 - Japan's Incredible Life Expectancy

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death? (2026)

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death?

Palliative care at St. Christopher's Hospice highlights the importance of compassionate end-of-life support, emphasizing dignity and quality of life for patients like John and Barbara.

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death?

Facing Death (2023)

Facing Death

Families face complex decisions about end-of-life care in modern medicine, as healthcare professionals navigate the emotional challenges within an ICU setting.

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary) (2022)

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary)

Twelve individuals, aged 30 to 68, share their experiences of living fully despite terminal illnesses in a 59-minute documentary.

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary)

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales (2025)

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales

In a rural pension house in the Philippines, 77-year-old Caridad Cerbito Morales navigates life as a widow while longing to reconnect with her estranged child.

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel (2021)

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel

Elderly individuals in Las Vegas are being exploited by a network of corrupt judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners who profit from their wealth and autonomy.

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel

Explore Sending Off

Trailer Topics FAQ

Where else to watch

The Good Death (2018)

The Good Death

Janette, terminally ill with muscular dystrophy, chooses physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland, prompting deep family discussions about life and autonomy.

No digital watch option in your country

Dying at Grace (2003)

Dying at Grace

2003•2h28m•★7.9TMDB

Five terminal patients at Toronto Grace Health Centre share their thoughts and feelings about death over the course of 148 minutes.

Near Death (1989)

Near Death

1989•5h58m•★7.1TMDB

Inside the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, patients and families confront critical decisions about life-sustaining treatment.

I Go Gaga, My Dear (2018)

I Go Gaga, My Dear

2018•1h42m•★9.0TMDB

A 95-year-old man cares for his wife, who suffers from dementia, while their daughter confronts her own battle with breast cancer.

I Go Gaga, My Dear

Ending Note: Death of a Japanese Salaryman (2011)

Ending Note: Death of a Japanese Salaryman

2011•1h30m•★8.0TMDB

A retired salaryman in Japan spends his final months completing a list of personal tasks, including planning his own funeral and spending time with family.

Ending Note: Death of a Japanese Salaryman

The End (2004)

The End

2004•1h24m•★9.0TMDB

Intimate portraits reveal the final days of hospice patients and families.

Extremis (2016)

Extremis

2016•24m•★7.0TMDB

Exploring the ethical dilemmas of end-of-life choices in healthcare.

Browse more like this

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey (1996)

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey

1996•1h30m•★7.0TMDB

Hospice care provides terminally ill patients and their families with comfort and support, preparing them for the emotional challenges of end-of-life transitions.

Letting Go: A Hospice Journey

No digital watch option in your country

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners (2023)

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners

In Japan, 40,000 people die alone each year, prompting a specialized cleaning company to address the aftermath and highlight the issue of Lonely Death.

Cleaning Up After the Dead: The Lonely Death Cleaners

No digital watch option in your country

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia (2024)

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia

In Japan, approximately 40,000 individuals die alone each year, prompting a rise in demand for specialized cleaning services that address the aftermath of these lonely deaths.

Japan’s Lonely Death Cleaners: Inside Japan’s Hidden Workforce | Undercover Asia

No digital watch option in your country

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death? (2026)

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death?

Palliative care at St. Christopher's Hospice highlights the importance of compassionate end-of-life support, emphasizing dignity and quality of life for patients like John and Barbara.

Is This The Most Radical Way To Delay Death?

No digital watch option in your country

Facing Death (2023)

Facing Death

Families face complex decisions about end-of-life care in modern medicine, as healthcare professionals navigate the emotional challenges within an ICU setting.

No digital watch option in your country

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary) (2022)

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary)

Twelve individuals, aged 30 to 68, share their experiences of living fully despite terminal illnesses in a 59-minute documentary.

A Time To Live (Terminal Illness Documentary)

No digital watch option in your country

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel (2021)

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel

Elderly individuals in Las Vegas are being exploited by a network of corrupt judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners who profit from their wealth and autonomy.

Network of crooked judges, lawyers, and healthcare practitioners - True Story Documentary Channel

No digital watch option in your country

Dying Out of Sight: Hikikomori in an Aging Japan (2021)

Dying Out of Sight: Hikikomori in an Aging Japan

2021•49m•★8.0TMDB

Over one million individuals in Japan experience hikikomori, a condition marked by severe social withdrawal and prolonged isolation.

Dying Out of Sight: Hikikomori in an Aging Japan

How to Care for the Senile (1986)

How to Care for the Senile

1986•1h24m•★10.0TMDB

Filmed over two years in a retirement home, the documentary examines daily life for patients with senile dementia and the efforts of their caregivers.

How to Care for the Senile

Sooner or Later (2003)

Sooner or Later

2003•1h33m•★10.0TMDB

A young couple says goodbye to their newborn son as the film examines death in hospital rooms, morgues, and homes.

Sooner or Later

Under the Cherry Tree (2016)

Under the Cherry Tree

2016•1h31m•★6.0TMDB

In Kawasaki, Japan, elderly residents of the Danchi public housing complex navigate aging and mortality through companionship and solitude.

Under the Cherry Tree

Hideaway (2024)

Hideaway

At ninety years old, poet Karla Erbová continues to make public appearances and actively work on her craft during the final year of her life.

Double Trouble (2025)

Double Trouble

Two women in a Polish village in Romania confront daily challenges with humor and determination after losing their husbands and children to emigration.

Browse more by Ian Thomas Ash

View all films →

-1287 (2014)

-1287

2014

Ushiku (2021)

Ushiku

2021

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →