MTV Documentary Films Acquires Rights To ‘Pay Or Die,’ Powerful Film On Americans “Held Hostage” By High Cost Of Insulin

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: MTV Documentary Films has acquired worldwide rights to Pay or Die, a heart wrenching film about Americans living with diabetes who face a cruel choice: pay the “extortionate” cost of insulin charged by pharmaceutical companies or risk death.

Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer directed and produced the documentary, which premiered in March at SXSW. MTV Documentary Films plans a theatrical release later this year, followed by a debut on streaming platform Paramount+. “Today, nearly two-million Americans living with diabetes are being held hostage by the pharmaceutical industry, as many cannot afford insulin,” notes a release about the documentary. “Without this life-sustaining drug, they will be dead in days.

Access to this drug has become increasingly more difficult, as the cost to patients in America soars. Pay or Die follows families struggling to afford their medications and reveals the harrowing reality of living with a chronic illness in the richest country in the world.” Those personal stories in the film stretch across the country. “From a mother-and-daughter struggling to rebuild their lives after spending 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 highlights this devastating struggle to survive while living with diabetes.” Doc legend Sheila Nevins, EP of MTV Documentary Films, said in a statement, “This film, in the tradition of documentaries that nudge the world, exposes the astronomical and unconscionable costs of life saving drugs.