A special showing of a film following four people in the final year of their lives, ISLAND, is raising vital funds for the only hospice in Gloucestershire with an inpatient unit.

The screening, arranged by The Sherborne Cinema in Gloucester for one night only on Monday 3rd December, will see profits donated to Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice.

The feature length film explores dying in a life affirming way and was filmed over 12 months at Mountbatten Hospice on the Isle of Wight. It seeks to address why death is unspoken about in society. Viewers observe four individuals, as they experience the year in which their lives will end. As their illnesses progress, viewers witness rarely seen moments, including the last days and hours of life and the moment of death.

Directed by Steven Eastwood and produced by BAFTA-nominated Elhum Shakerifar, the film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and Rotterdam International Film Festival earlier this year.

Dr Paul Perkins, consultant in palliative medicine at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, said: "Death and dying is a subject not many of us want to talk about, but it is something we will all experience. At Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice and out in the community in Gloucestershire, we provide expert and compassionate palliative and bereavement care to families. We are increasingly helping people earlier too, sometimes when they have just been diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition, so our expertise can help people live the fullest lives possible.

"When I saw the trailer for this film, I felt showing it in Gloucestershire would help raise awareness of what we do, and share the important message that we all need to be more open in talking about death, dying and our final wishes."

Owner of The Sherborne Cinema, Mark Cunningham, has said he will donate any profits to the hospice from the screening.

Mark said: "I think this is such an important subject and films like ISLAND help to de-mistify the hospice movement and help us to accept death as a natural and inevitable part of life and not something to be hidden away and never discussed."

Tickets for the showing cost £6 and are payable in cash at the Sherborne Cinema Box Office on the night, on a first come first served basis. Doors open at 5.30pm on Monday 3rd December, with the screening at 6pm, so come early to avoid disappointment.