The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences awarded Los Angeles-based filmmaker Jessica Yu an Oscar Monday for her short documentary film Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O' Brien which was co-produced by Pacific News Service.
"You know you've entered into new territory when you realize your dress costs more than your film," joked Yu in her acceptance speech.
Breathing Lessons captures the life of Berkeley, Ca.-based poet and journalist Mark O'Brien who has been confined to a 900-pound iron lung since contracting polio at age 6.
After acknowledging Sandy Close and Pacific News Service for their support, Yu offered her "deepest thanks to Mark O'Brien, 41 years paralyzed in an iron lung... Mark, it was not your bravery but your humanity that earned this award," Yu said.
PNS executive editor Sandy Close asked Yu to make a film about O'Brien in the belief that it would be the best medium to convey the power of his vision through his own words and give him "a second life" outside the confines of his cramped apartment. "Here's a man in an iron lung who turns breathing into poetry," said Close who has devoted her 32 year to introducing voices to the public forum that would otherwise be missed.
As an associate editor of PNS since the late 1970s, O'Brien writes personal essays about the world through the eyes of a severely disabled person. A collection of his poetry, "Breathing", is available from Little Dog Press. An autobiography, "A Free Man in Paris," is forthcoming later this year.
Breathing Lessons debuted at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. It has won several previous honors including the International Documentary Association Achievement Award for Best Documentary. Her previous films include Sour Death Balls, a short film that captures children's reactions to tasting the "most sour candy in the world."
Videotape copies of "Breathing Lessons," co-produced by Inscrutable Films, are available for institutions and schools through Fanlight Productions (800) 937-4113 and Pacific News Service (415) 438-4755. The film will also air on Cinemax on May 22nd as part of the "Reel Life" series of independent films.