Louise

Louise's husband Neil was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 33, when their son Oscar was just a few months old, and died a year later. I Am Breathing is a powerful, heartbreaking account of the final few months of Neil's life - his attempt, along with a wonderful blog which he dictated via voice recognition software, to raise awareness of MND in the hope that a cure or better treatment might be found. I hosted an emotional Q&A following the UK premiere of the film tonight, with Louise, the two directors and a doctor specialising in MND. I deliberately didn't sit in on the screening, as I didn't want to go on stage afterwards with tears streaming down my face, but even so, at the beginning of the Q&A when I thanked Louise for being there, I barely held it together. She's an amazing woman, incredibly strong, tireless and dedicated. Tomorrow is MND Awareness Day and there are screenings taking place all over the world. I expect there will be more in the months to come - please see it if you get the chance.

EDIT: I've realised this sounds like I had a very serious evening. The Q&A was, yes, but afterwards there was a reception for the film on a terrace looking over the city - drinks and chats and fun.

Lovely piece on the film here.