The London Screenwriters’ Festival has renamed one its awards in honour of Irish writer/director, Simon Fitzmaurice.
Having been the first recipient of the ‘Fucking Awesome Award’ in 2016, the British Screenwriters’ Awards have decided to rename the award in honour of its first recipient.
As stated in an announcement by the London Screenwriters’ Festival, the new Fitzmaurice Award ‘acknowledges true grit, relentless resilience and thorough action, to unapologetically defy the odds – and that is fucking awesome’
Having begun on the path of a successful filmmaking career with the release of two short films ‘Full Circle’ (2003) & ‘The Sound of People’ (2007), Simon Fitzmaurice was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease in 2008. Although the condition deprived him of his ability to move, Fitzmaurice penned and directed his first feature film ‘My Name Is Emily’ in 2015, writing and communicating with cast & crew solely through the movement of his eyes and ‘Eye Gaze’ technology.
Although only being given four years to live when diagnosed, Fitzmaurice lived with the illness for ten year, passing away last October, aged 42. Simon also wrote ‘It’s Not Yet Dark’, a book on his life whose name was adapted to the documentary chronicling Simon’s life prior to and during the making of his debut feature film.
Speaking about the honour, Ruth Fitzmaurice said:
“I think I can speak for all the family in saying that it is an award that Simon would be extremely proud to have his name attached to. Thank you all so much for the recognition you gave Simon in his lifetime, it meant a huge amount to him, and he would definitely be honoured to know his name was being carried forward.”
The first recipient of the Fitzmaurice Award will be announced at the sixth British Screenwriters’ Awards on September 8, 2018.
Click here for the full list of the British Screenwriters’ Awards nominees
