Award-Winning
Documentary About A
Family’s Response To ALS Now On
DVD
TUCSON, Ariz., March 16, 2007 —
“So Much So Fast”, a new
film by Oscar-nominated directors Steven
Ascher and Jeanne Jordan, focuses on
Stephen Heywood -- a designer and builder
who learned at age 29 that he had amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s
disease).
MDA has led the fight against ALS for
more than 50 years.
“As we approach ALS Awareness
Month this May, our hope is that people
will see this film and come away with
a greater understanding and appreciation
of the devastating consequences this
disease has on the lives of everyone
it touches,” MDA President &
CEO Jerry Weinberg said.
The documentary premiered at the 2006
Sundance Film Festival and was released
to critical and audience acclaim in
theaters nationwide. Critics have called
it “triumphant,” “gripping,
intimate and dramatic” and “filled
with unexpected humor.”
It will be aired on the PBS program
“Frontline” on April 3.
Filmmakers Ascher and Jordan, a husband-and-wife
team, first encountered ALS when Jeanne’s
mother was diagnosed with it. Heywood’s
story provided them the opportunity
to examine the ways in which ALS takes
hold of the lives of those who have
it and their families.
Obsessed with finding a cure, Heywood’s
brother James started the ALS Therapy
Development Foundation, a nonprofit,
fast-track research program dedicated
to developing treatments for ALS in
as short a time as possible.
In January, the foundation joined with
MDA in an historic $36 million partnership,
creating the largest ALS drug discovery
project to date, called the ALS Therapy
Development Institute.
“So Much So Fast,” which
runs 87 minutes, is available at a special
price of $24.95 for those registered
with MDA. Full-size posters are available
for $19.99. For information or to order,
go to www.somuchsofast.com.
|
