Home
American Documentary, Inc.
> Home > Program Guide
Program Guide - True Lives
Breathing Lessons by Jessica Yu
About the Filmmaker:

Jessica YuJessica Yu won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short for Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien. Yu also directed the award-winning In the Realms of the Unreal, which examined the world of outsider artist Henry Darger and was broadcast on PBS's POV series in 2005. Her other credits include the award-winning HBO film The Living Museum, which profiles an art community in a New York mental institution; the narrative short Better Late; the documentary Men of Reenaction, about Civil War reenactors; the musical comedy short The Conductor, featuring Mark Salzman; the documentary Home Base, and the award-winning and perennial festival favorite black & white short Sour Death Balls. Yu has also directed Emmy-winning commercials.

Watch an Interview (video popup window)

Buy the Film:

To buy a copy of this film please contact:

Fanlight Productions
Post Office Box 1084
Harriman, NY 10926

Phone:
(800) 937-4113

Fax:
(845) 774-2945

Email | Website

Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien by Jessica Yu

Check Local Listings (popup window)

Download Press Materials:
Fact Sheet: PDF | DOC
Jump to photosVIEW AND DOWNLOAD
PHOTOS
The Academy Award-winning Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, a documentary by filmmaker Jessica Yu, explores the unique world of Mark O'Brien, the poet-journalist who lived for four decades paralyzed in an iron lung. Incorporating the vivid imagery of O'Brien's poetry and his candid, wry, and often profound reflections on work, sex, death and God, this provocative documentary asks: What is a life worth living? By presenting O'Brien's life from his point of view, the film provides an intimate window into the reality of a life of severe disability, as well as an illuminating portrait of a remarkable artist.

Exclusive Interview: Jessica Yu
Jessica Yu talks about her motivations, intentions, and experiences making "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien" in this exclusive interview. (Length: 17 min.)

Download the MP3 (12.9MB)
An advocate of the "independent living" movement and an ardent opponent of euthanasia, O'Brien emphasized the universal need for human beings to have a measure of control over their own lives. "The two mythologies about disabled people break down to one: we can't do anything, or two: we can do everything," he said. "But the truth is, we're just human."

Mark O'Brien (1949-1999) was a poet, journalist and inspirational voice in the movement of disabled people to lead independent lives. Born in Boston and raised in Sacramento, Calif., O'Brien was six years old when he contracted polio, which left him paralyzed from the neck down. At the time of his death, he was one of some 100 polio survivors in the United States who still used an iron lung to breathe.

In Breathing Lessons, O'Brien expressed profound gratitude to his parents, Helen and Walter O'Brien, for the care and love they gave him. In 1978 he moved to Berkeley, Calif., after being accepted as a freshman at the University of California. He became a familiar figure on the streets of Berkeley, navigating his motorized gurney between the campus and his tiny apartment that housed his iron lung. O'Brien received his BA in English literature in 1982 with the support of note takers, home health-care attendants and the then-fledgling Center for Independent Living. After repeated efforts, O'Brien gained admission to UC's Graduate School of Journalism, helping to set a precedent for severely disabled applicants to state universities.

He began his career as a journalist in 1979. Initially, he composed his pieces by dictation, and then learned to type with a mouth stick, first on an electric typewriter and later on a word processor. His volumes of poetry include "Breathing," "The Man in the Iron Lung," and "Love and Baseball." At the time of his death, O'Brien was completing an autobiography.

Related Links:
Breathing Lessons - Pacific News Service
Read Mark O'Brien's Poetry - Pacific News Service
A long-time editor of Pacific News Service, O'Brien published essays, book reviews and news stories for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Examiner, and the National Catholic Reporter. He wrote about sports, religion and the culture and politics of being disabled. He was also a contributor to NPR. O'Brien died in his home in Berkeley.

Breathing Lessons is produced by Jessica Yu. Co-produced by Pacific News Service.

(1995, 35 min.)

Top of Page TOP OF PAGE | 2006 PROGRAM GUIDE LISTING | 2005 PROGRAM GUIDE LISTING

View and Download Photos:

Note: Click on an image to open the full size version in a new window. Use File > Save As... to save the image to your hard drive. Photos are for press and private use only. All rights reserved. All uses of the photos must be credited as indicated below. For additional information on rights and clearance isssues, contact communications@pov.org.

Poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999).

Caption:
Poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999)
Credit:
Photo courtesy of Jessica Yu

Poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999).

Caption:
Poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999)
Credit:
Photo courtesy of Jessica Yu

Caption:
Poet and journalist Mark O'Brien (1949-1999)
Credit:
Photo courtesy of Jessica Yu

Filmmaker Jessica Yu

Caption:
Filmmaker Jessica Yu
Credit:
Photo courtesy of Jessica Yu

Top of Page TOP OF PAGE | 2006 PROGRAM GUIDE LISTING | 2005 PROGRAM GUIDE LISTING

True Lives is presented by American Documentary, Inc. and National Educational Telecommunications Association.

National Educational Telecommunications Association

Download the 2006 True Lives Press Release: PDF | DOC
Copyright ©2006 American Documentary, Inc. | About American Documentary, Inc. | POV