LOGLINE

Confined to a hospital bed and stripped of his independence, an elderly man’s only goal is to take one final dignified shit—by himself. In the process, Martin Takes a Shit lays bare the quiet humiliations of aging, the cracks in the American healthcare system, and the strange beauty of refusing to go quietly.

PITCH

Martin Takes a Shit is a darkly funny, painfully honest, and deeply human story about an 82-year-old man, Martin, stuck in a hospital room after a fall. His body may be failing, but his spirit isn’t. He’s not asking for much—just to shit on his own, without help, without a bedpan, without two overworked CNAs hovering over him like he’s already dead.

This isn’t just about bathroom dignity—it’s about control, about what happens when society and the system quietly decide you’re no longer worth the time or effort. With a dry wit and unflinching gaze, the film explores the absurd bureaucracy of hospital care, the slow erosion of identity that comes with aging, and how moments that seem small to everyone else—like getting out of bed and walking to a toilet—can feel like acts of rebellion.

As Martin wages his quiet war for autonomy, he’s joined by a new roommate: Frank, an older man on a ventilator who cannot speak but remains fully conscious. At first, Martin resents him—just another reminder of where he could be headed. But over time, Frank becomes a mirror, a silent audience, and eventually, Martin’s unlikely confidant. Their one-sided conversations evolve into a deep, wordless bond, reminding Martin that connection, like dignity, can survive even in silence.

Through Martin’s stubbornness, humor, and the quiet companionship of a man who can’t reply, we glimpse a life fully lived, and a system slowly failing the people it’s meant to protect. The story doesn’t flinch from the awkward, the gross, or the heartbreaking—but it also finds warmth, humanity, and even grace in the most unlikely place: a hospital bathroom.