Bring Me Sand and Gravel to Eat

Year Published: 1980

Country of Origin: Germany

Description: 16mm Film - Bring Me Sand and Gravel to Eat - BRD 1980 Script and Direction: Marianne Riedel Camera: Klaus Möller Cast: Kaspar Kiepenheuer (1942–2001), and others. The documentary uses six examples to show how children and young people cope with the experience of dying and death in their immediate environment. A woman looks after a little girl during the day whose mother has died. The child remembers her mother, who she believes is now in heaven. The author of the film interviews the foster mother. The commentary states that 'angels' and 'heaven' may be emotive words for some adults, but in conversations with children, they can be helpful in conveying hope and confidence. A mother recounts the sudden death of her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter's father, which the child witnessed, and how she is trying to free the child from this trauma. A couple recounts how they prepared their two-year-old son, who was suffering from leukemia, for death and how he gradually accepted his fate. The family doctor sees religion as a great help in coping with the situation of dying. A girl has lost two siblings. The experience is reflected in her drawings, which are interpreted by Child psychiatrist Dr. Kaspar Kiepenheuer. The drawings of a girl who died of leukemia at the age of 13 reveal her expectations of death. The sister of the deceased and her friend talk about their relationship with the sick girl. Teenagers at Anne-Frank-Secondary-School in Mainz talk about death. One of their classmates died during the holidays. They think about how they can comfort her mother and decide to visit her. The television documentary by theologian Marianne Riedel (Evangelical Academy Hofgeismar) shows different reactions of children and teenagers to the death of people close to them and provides some advice for believers who want to overcome their fear of death and grief. (First broadcast on ARD: March 29, 1980)

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unTPo35PgWw

Metadata Source:YouTube