'It was writing that saved me': how Simon Fitzmaurice seized his creativity after being diagnosed with ALS
Simon Fitzmaurice is the first person with ALS ever to direct a feature film.
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Simon Fitzmaurice is an Irish filmmaker whose career was just taking off when he was diagnosed with ALS. The disease has confined him to a wheelchair.
It has taken away his ability to move, breath on his own — even talk, but it has not silenced his artistic voice or diminished his creative drive. Fitzmaurice is the first person with ALS ever to direct a feature film, the drama My Name is Emily.
Tom Power talks to Fitzmaurice and his wife, Ruth, whose first book, a memoir about living with her husband, is about to be released.
— Produced by Daemon Fairless