Editor: Matt Lowe

Executive Producer: Hannah Brownhill

Director: Sophie Robinson.

Maverick for Channel 4
5^th December, Channel 4, 10pm

From the get-go, My Dead Body stood out as being one of those projects that would be ground-breaking and unique and we were excited to be able to help with it.  It needed a gentle hand to tell the heart-breaking and inspiring story of Toni Crews, a young mother of two, who was diagnosed with a rare one-a-million cancer of the tear gland, and who decided to donate her body to science to be autopsied on television. Matt Lowe was the editor on this film- as soon as we spoke to him about the project he was excited to be on board and manage the challenge of telling this story in a respectful and soulful way. He spoke to the lovely the director Sophie Robinson to make sure they were on the same wave-length and the film would be done in a way that would do justice to Toni’s memory and sacrifice, fulfilling the film’s scientific premise whilst keeping a powerful emotional and humane style of storytelling.

We spoke to Matt after the edit who explained  “the reality of dealing with some of the visuals was tough at first, but over time I was able to approach them in a way that I was able to detach myself from them somewhat and I actually found some of the tougher dissection scenes incredibly fascinating. I think the thing that everybody involved with the project was most conscious of however,  was making a film that was respectful to Toni’s memory, and was something that her family could be proud of.  I like to think that we achieved that”.

My Dead Body is a pioneering new documentary which tells the incredible story of Toni Crews, a young mother of two, who was diagnosed with a rare one-in-a-million cancer of the tear gland. When she was informed that her cancer was terminal, she made the decision to donate her body to science so that people could learn more about the disease. This film follows Prof. Claire Smith, as she continues Toni’s story by dissecting her body in a series of educational workshops. The film features home video footage and interviews with Tonis’ family as they discuss the course of her illness and gives Toni herself a presence in the film through the use of voice-replicating technology that narrates her social media posts and letters to her children. 

My Dead Body 5^th December, Channel 4, 10pm