It was actually Kevin’s idea to make a DOK film about his sister Wendy. She thought her brother should also be the main actor in it – as her manager, and because he battled cancer off and on for 13 years. Since Kevin died during filming, a tribute was created.
The first sequence already gets under your skin. Wendy Holdener‘s brother Kevin calls filmmaker Michael Bühler from his hospital bed to say that he cannot start chemotherapy as planned because of pneumonia. Kevin is at a loss: “Do we want to continue filming – or, in the worst case scenario, is there no story?”
The plan was to go heli-skiing in Canada after successful chemotherapy. This would have meant that Kevin – as a young skier at Swiss Ski, on the verge of becoming a professional like his sister – would have fulfilled a long-held dream. Instead, the worst case scenario that was suggested in the phone call occurred: Kevin died just under a week after this call at the age of 34.
My career would definitely have been different if Kevin hadn’t helped me.
Kevin and cancer was a 13-year-old story of suffering. Since the first diagnosis at the end of 2010, he had struggled again and again, but had never been really healthy for more than two years.
After his dream of becoming a professional skier was dashed, Kevin stood by his sister as a manager.
When Kevin was feeling particularly bad, Wendy wanted to relieve him of his role as manager to relieve the burden. But mother Daniela always said: “Never do that! This work is his lifeblood.”
For her, it was the natural continuation of a role that Kevin had taken on since Wendy was born: “He was simply the big brother and made sure nothing happened.”
Wendy appreciated having the business part taken care of for her: “My career would definitely have been different if Kevin hadn’t helped me.”
I never wore a mask in public – I just couldn’t always tell the truth.
The sibling relationship as driver and manager was not without friction. Father Daniel reveals: “Kevin was Wendy’s biggest critic.” But above all, there was the unshakable family bond.
When examinations in autumn 2023 revealed that Kevin’s tumors had grown again, Wendy demanded that the doctor give her pure wine. The sobering answer: “Your brother has one to a maximum of three years left to live.”
In December, Holdener suffered a fracture to his left ankle in a training fall. The season is about to end early. The timing of this injury does not seem coincidental given the stressful situation.
Holdener admits: “At that moment I no longer had the passion for skiing.” But of course she didn’t want to cite her brother’s condition as a reason: “I never put on a mask in public – but I just couldn’t always tell the truth.”
The positive thing about Wendy’s forced break is that she can spend more time with her sick brother. To give Kevin new courage, she organizes a greeting from Roger Federer for him.
When Kevin was unable to begin his chemotherapy treatment in February due to pneumonia, he and his long-time girlfriend Carmen decided to get married. A few days after the wedding in the hospital, Kevin dies.
It quickly becomes clear to Wendy that she still wants to make the planned DOK film – for her brother. After a few months of distance, she says: “You learn a lot about life when something like that happens – but I could have done without it.”
