An inoperable malignant brain tumour, officially named an astro-systoma because of its star shape. That was the diagnosis Lawrence received just one day after learning that his wife was pregnant with his first child. Sparling was told that there was no hope for him, but he has lived to tell the story and even to coach his son through writing a film script on the details of that story.
Now, 17-year-old Emmett Sparling is making the final sprint in a fundraising campaign that will cover the production costs.
“The short version of the story is that my father’s brain broke, and to get through the surgery — which he was first told he would never be able to have — he imagined he was an astronaut,” says Sparling. “The film starts out the night my father learned my mother was pregnant with me. He had a seizure and was woken up by the smoke alarms that went off because dinner was still on the stove. The script follows him through the surgery he managed to get because his brother met one of the world’s top neurosurgeons at Duke University.”
Emmett says his father often shares his story with people who’ve been handed grim diagnoses, and he’s hoping the film will be a way to reach even more people. Any money raised through screenings and the film festival will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.
He’s been working on pre-production for Brain Maker (script writing, casting, locations etc.) for six months now. His goal is to raise $10,000 to shoot the film, something he’s aiming to do in August.
Iff you’d like to chip in and contribute to his campaign and learn more, go to www.brainmaker2015.weebly.com.
