Viable, a new film to be released shortly, is the story of Violet, a young woman diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. After being diagnosed with this disease Violet faces the reality that her dreams of becoming a pianist may be shattered because people are no longer willing to accept her.
What audiences may not know is that Viable is a semi-biographical story of Mary Gyulay the co-writer and director of this heart warming story about challenging the odds and making the most of life regardless of the circumstances. As an actor in the film, I was moved by the reality of this story, its closeness to home and the truth behind it. When I talked to Mary about her story she willing and graciously opened up to share more of her journey with Multiple Sclerosis and how Viable came into being.
(The following answers are quoted to illicit Mary’s words. Please recognize that I paraphrased her answers from the notes taken. All material has been reviewed and approved by Mary for this interview write up)
When were you diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis?
“My best friend, Melissa Scicluna, was throwing a birthday party for me in June. My birthday is right around Christmas, so this ‘half birthday’ was a pleasant surprise. At the time, I did not know it was a surprise party for me, Mel simply asked me to join her for the night out.
During the day I got a horrible migraine headache which was causing some blurred vision in one eye. I really was not feeling well and called Mel to tell her I could not go out. She insisted that I come that night; so, I went home, took some Advil, and slept it off as best I could. I made it out and I’m glad I did. The next day I was no better and my vision was still blurry. At the time I had no idea that migraines were associated to MS; but, I did know something was not right.
Off to the optometrist who did a number of tests on me, many of which I failed. I was moved along to a retina specialist as my optometrist thought it was retinal related. After seeing the specialist, I was told I needed to get to emergency immediately as the vision problems were brain related. I was getting somewhat scared as I headed to St. Michael’s Hospital. While waiting in triage, a nurse did some tests and let me know I was being diagnosed with MS. It was at this point I started to break down. I was fast tracked to an MRI and while I waited for results my doctor began talking to me about having MS. My main concern during all of this was whether or not this disease would stop me from having a family.”
Mary qualified this time as a whirl wind of information: getting treatment for her eye, observing patients at various stages of MS in the doctor’s office and seeing herself in their shoes, imagining what her life may hold, going for an MRI and simply taking in a lot of information. Mary was 23 at the time, which although is not that uncommon, is still a young age to be diagnosed. She expressed that receiving the official diagnosis via phone was relatively easy for her having gone through the whirl wind. Having already managed much of the news for herself, she expressed turning to and helping her family who now had to manage the information and understand what it meant to them and their relationship with her.
It is my understanding that MS will not stop you from having a family, is that correct?
“That is correct. I am capable of having a family. Actually that fear was one of the key points as to why the film was made. I have an ‘aunt’ figure in my life who recently passed away due to MS. My only understanding of the disease, up to that point, was what I experienced through my ‘aunt’. She had a very aggressive MS progression, and although I never saw her physical deterioration, due to her living in California, I was updated about her condition and felt I had an understanding of the disease’s effect. Based on what I knew, prior to my own diagnosis, I thought MS was a disease that affected ‘older’ people. With me being diagnosed so young, it quickly brought to life that this is a disease that affects a wide variety of people and it covers a huge age range. It may surprise you to know that it is common for people at the age of fifteen to be diagnosed with MS. It may surprise you more to know that they are not the youngest; in some rare cases the diagnosis is given to toddlers. I knew very early after my diagnosis that I wanted to bring an awareness to this disease.”
Mary to me you have no visible signs of disease or MS. If I met you anywhere, I would mistake you for a healthy young woman. What is it like having this disease and not having or demonstrating any visible symptoms?
“That’s an interesting point. My first relapse was at age fifteen. I had not been diagnosed at that time; but, in hindsight, I know that I had been living with the symptoms of MS since I was about the age of thirteen. As someone who is always on the go and always pushing myself, I now must recognize what the warning signs are. Having a migraine, or extreme fatigue is no longer just me pushing to hard to the finish line; it is my body letting me know that things are really not right. Now I have to decide when to stop due to disease or just being tired - it is a huge lifestyle adjustment and self awareness that I never had to consider before.”
”It has also brought my attention to the fact that you can never really tell or understand what someone is going through. I’m the first person to stand up and offer my seat to an elderly person, or pregnant lady or someone who visibly needs a seat on the TTC. But sometimes I am that person on the TTC who truly needs the seat offered to me. But when I am sitting there, in discomfort due to disease, and an elderly person gets on the bus, there is a social pressure for me to stand up because no one can see that I am truly hurting and ill. It really has opened my eyes to what little we know of what people truly go through.”
Having worked with Mary on Viable and in talking to her for this interview I know full well that regardless of social pressure Mary is still the first person to get up and offer her seat on the TTC to someone in need. It is this spirit of kindness and giving, among many other things, that helped to fuel her vision for Viable the film, the brand and the light she is shedding on MS.
When did Viable the film become a target project for you?
“As a Ryerson University student in the Radio and Television Arts program I always knew I would have to do a practicum component to my degree. On my first day of university, they showed the students a reel of what a practicum could look like and I immediately knew I wanted to make a film and I wanted it to be big.”
“I’m not the kind of person who would approach others with the thought “Hey lets do a film about me and my struggles” so the idea sat idle in my mind. Melissa is my best friend, she was there there with me from day one of my diagnosis. She is also a talented producer who everyone hoped would produce their final year practicum. Instead, Mel came to me with this idea to make a film about MS. I was so touched. That is true love between friends. We shared the same goals: a film, with multiple platforms, that would create a brand. Less than a year after my diagnosis I went to camera.”
Many people share the tragic belief that “You are just a student”. So how did “just a student” do it? Please share some of your journey to inspire other students, all of whom are Viable.
“We approached everything knowing that many people would see us as just students; as a result, we really made sure we had an answer for everything so that we stood out beyond everyone else. This made our presentations and our pitches stronger. The first thing they teach in film and TV is that you must believe in what you sell or it won’t sell. So we approached everything with a lot of confidence, which is funny because I don’t consider myself confident in many ways.”
“Approaching this idea with confidence, resulted in us gathering a strong support system of industry professionals who believed in our project and were willing to mentor us.”
“Melissa and I are big fans of Blue Rodeo and one of our desires was being able to include their music in our story. Through various contacts and loose connections, we reached out to the band, told our story, and it lead to them lending their voice and their music to our project.”
Mary and Melissa started talking about this in spring of 2015 and by November they were going to camera. So knowing what they wanted, where they wanted to go and a strong belief in where they were taking it was the foundation to growing their dream.
It is just under two months away from your first screen of Viable. When you look back on this process how do you feel?
“I get caught up in the whirl wind of the project. Every now and then I will step back, when I really stop to and think about all the people who believe in this, all the people who got on board for what we are doing, I am so touched because I am living with this disease. The project is for the greater MS community and I’m touched by all who are making it happen.”
“The first table read of the script was one of the first moments that struck me and let me realize who big this idea was and how it was growing. That was the first time that it went beyond me. All these strangers, not friends from school, but strangers who were getting involved in the idea. It was amazing.”
Where does the Viable brand go from here?
“A long time ago we all dropped the idea that this was a school project and we were getting graded. It has always been a big idea. Going forward from here the next steps start with the screening which hopefully opens more doors. The MS Society will be there and it will hopefully further our discussions with them. I’ve done some interviews with others who have been diagnosed with MS and those will be released bit by bit which will further help our social media pages. The final step is film festivals, with TIFF being the top of the list.”
You can stay connected to Viable through these social media links:
Twitter: @viablefilm
Instagram: @viablefilm
facebook: facebook.com/viablefilm
website: viablefilm.com
No comments:
Post a Comment