Pay or Die Documentary to Premiere at SXSW

Pay or Die – world premiere at SXSW, Documentary Feature Competition

Directed by Scott Alexander Ruderman & Rachael Dyer

Today, nearly 2 million Americans are being held for ransom. Without insulin, they’ll be dead in days. “Pay or Die” follows 3 families on the receiving end of these ransom notes, revealing the harrowing reality of life with chronic illness in the richest country in the world. From a mother-and-daughter struggling to rebuild their lives after losing their home when they had to spend their rent money on insulin, to a young adult diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, to a Minnesota family thrust into the national spotlight when their 26-year-old son dies from rationing his insulin, “Pay or Die” lays bare the human cost of America’s insulin affordability crisis.

Produced by Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman
and Yael Melamede

Executive producers: Sarah Silverman, Amy Zvi, Russell Long, Douglas Choi, Martina Bessenger, Marci Wiseman, Dawn Bonder, Sarah Lucas, Trish Adlesic, Lauren Bromely, and Zak Kilberg.

Editor: Will Rogers

Supervising editor: Toby Shimin

Cinematographer: Scott Alexander Ruderman

Music: T. Griffin