Film raises awareness via comedy
WITH the aim of raising awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, one man has shared his own personal experience in a project and has been selected as a film festival finalist.
When Ian Heydon was in his early 50s, he began to forget things and struggled to walk.
But it wasn’t until he was 55 years old, that he received his MS diagnosis – a neurological disease that affects more than 25,000 Australians.
And while the chronic condition impacts everyone differently, the most common symptoms include vision loss, pain, fatigue and cognitive issues.
“It’s a very curious disease because it impacts everyone differently – for me, the wiring in my brain doesn’t tell my left leg to work which is why I’m in a wheelchair, and I have short-term memory loss, so I can’t read a book because I forget about what was on the page before,” Mr Heydon said.
“I used to think a wheelchair meant you have a disability, but this gives me a lot more freedom … but people don’t know unless they have experienced MS themselves.”
Starting out as a comedy writer for television and radio, Mr Heydon made a career change when he opened his own travel agency helping couples to honeymoon in the South Pacific.
But after receiving his diagnosis, the creative who is now aged 67, decided to return to writing and has now released his first project in many years – What’s In a Name?
Nominated as a finalist in the NOVA Employment 2021 Focus On Ability Short Film Awards, which helps to create a platform for people living with disabilities to share their work, Mr Heydon hopes to shed a light on MS by sharing his own experience.
“Some people with MS like myself have trouble remembering things or lose words, so in the film I include some real-life examples, like when I called a spatula a flippy stick … which I think is a much better description,” Mr Heydon said.
“To be nominated as a finalist is really fantastic and if nothing else, it will hopefully start a thought pattern.”
Credited for his impressive writing work including Kingswood Country, How Green Was My Cactus and Oscar-winning rabbit Bugs Bunny, Mr Heydon’s comedy is one of a kind.
And while the comedic talent remains humble, his wife and biggest supporter Annie Heydon said her husband’s diagnosis had not stopped him from achieving his dreams.
“I really hope he wins because he’s brought awareness of MS to the forefront of Toowoomba through this film,” she said.
“Ian makes me laugh every day … that’s what drew me to him and that hasn’t changed.
“If you can find someone who can make you laugh, they’re the one.”
The film was co-produced, directed and edited by Shayne Cantly.
Winners will be announced mid October.
For more information, visit ianheydon.com or focusonability.com.au.