SAYREVILLE — Patrick Sean O’Brien’s film about living with and rising above Lou Gehrig’s disease was honored with the Audience Documentary Award at the TriBeCa Film Festival.
O’Brien, the son of Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O’Brien, is a patient with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the Leonard Florence Center for Living in Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he has been working on the documentary since his diagnosis in 2005.
A decade after he was first diagnosed, O’Brien, 40, can still feel someone else’s touch, but is unable to move with the exception of his eyes and the corner of his mouth.
Still, despite being given two to five years to live in 2005, O’Brien pushed on, determined to complete his documentary.
The world premiere of “TransFatty Lives,” a reference to O’Brien’s Internet alter ego, was well-received by festivalgoers in New York City, he said.
“I’ve always tried to be transparent emotionally with this film — to take chances, to take the road less traveled,” O’Brien said.
He said people laughed and cried in all the right places at the screening, adding, “I want to be the world’s first stand-up, sit-down comedian.”
Producer Amelia Green-Dove said she believed in the project from the start, adding that O’Brien’s personality illuminated the entire film.
“Patrick’s story is inspiring, but what makes the film great is his ability to take a very specific story about his own personal journey and make it a universal story that everyone can connect with,” Green-Dove said. “Plus, Patrick has a great sense of humor.”
Producer Michele Dupree echoed those sentiments, stating that the documentary serves as an important film to bolster the message started by last year’s ALS icebucket challenge campaign.
Winning the Audience Documentary Award was validation that O’Brien was able to affect the audience as intended by humanizing one of the most debilitating diseases known and touching people emotionally, Dupree said.
“My reaction was to jump on a plane and go hug Patrick,” he said. “He did it. He captured the audience’s heart by being his creative, honest self.
“We hope audiences will want to take action after they walk away from the film. The scientists at ALS.net are working on finding a cure, and we hope people will pitch in to help.”
After receiving the Audience Documentary Award, O’Brien said he feels as if he has triumphed over a city that once got the better of him.
“For a long time, I felt New York City had beaten me. But with this TriBeCa award, we’re square,” O’Brien said.
“I love you, New York. We’re even.”