The year was 2008 and writer/director Simon Fitzmaurice was set to make the next leap in his career, from short-filmmaker to feature-length-filmmaker. Like many in that phase of his career, he was savoring the challenge. Then came the news that would be an insurmountable hurdle to many lesser men. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and given a prognosis of four years before he succumbed to the disease.
Still, he continued with his career.
In 2010, in a state of lung-functioning collapse, Simon was expected to die. Yet, against all medical advice, he chose to ventilate and stay alive. Driven by his love for his family, Fitzmaurice continued to defy the odds, and completed his feature-length script – and then direct the film – communicating only via his eye-gaze computer.
Simon’s story redefines the word “inspirational,” and his willingness to bring his film MY NAME IS EMILY to the London Screenwriters’ Festival is the perfect antidote for any writers with difficulty finding motivation, overcoming self-doubt, or general malaise.
A true-life tale of commitment to love and art unlike any other, the opportunity to bring Simon to London was embraced by the entire London Screenwriters’ Festival community. The added expense and challenges of bring him to London were generously subsidized by delegates through a crowdfunding campaign that raised 150% of the requested amount.
It is an honor and a privilege to bring the incredible achievement, “My Name Is Emily” to this year’s LSF in one of the few examples where the story behind the movie is every bit as incredible as the movie itself. In a Script-To-Screen unlike any we’ve presented before, delegates will have the opportunity to meet this incredible writer/director on Festival Friday at 8pm in Tuke Cinema.
Filmmaker, Author and Festival founder. Currently directing splinter unit on Mission: Impossible 8 and Exec Producing Apple Original show title TBC.
