Late last month award-winning Irish filmmaker Simon Fitzmaurice passed away at the all-to-young age of 43. He left behind a loving wife and family and an inspirational legacy of films. Diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 2008, he overcame adversity to direct a feature film and write a memoir about his struggle. Frankie Fenton perfectly captured the essence of this memoir and of Simon in his documentary It’s Not Yet Dark which was recently released in cinemas and is available on demand via Volta from Monday, November 13th.
Narrated by Colin Farrell, It’s Not Yet Dark tells the ground-breaking story of Simon Fitzmaurice as he embarks on directing his first feature film My Name Is Emily through the use of his eyes and eye gaze technology. The film borrows its title from Simon’s autobiography, which was published in 2015, around halfway through the documentary project.
Directed by Frankie Fenton, the film had its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year where it was nominated for the World Cinema Documentary Award and has since screened at festivals across the globe including the Edinburgh Film Festival, the Sydney International Film Festival and the Galway Film Fleadh, where it won the awards for Best Irish Feature Documentary and Best Cinematography in an Irish Feature (Kate McCullough).
It’s Not Yet Dark is an extraordinary tribute to an extraordinary man. We urge you to seek it out.