newportFILM has one 1 more “off-season” event before their big newportFILM OUTDOORS season begins, and it promises to be a good one.
On Monday, June 13th, newportFILM will host a free community screening of GLEASON, a documentary about former NFL defensive back, Steve Gleason, who has been diagnosed with ALS, at Jane Pickens Theater.
This event was originally scheduled for Tuesday, June 7th at Casino Theater, the date and venue were changed due to the film distributor’s request.
At the age of 34, former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Gleason found out his wife, Michel, was expecting their first child. A video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle Steve’s determination to get his relationships in order, build a foundation to provide other ALS patients with purpose, and adapt to his declining physical condition—utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible.
Gleason is not only about Steve’s resilience but also the complications of love between fathers and sons, and husbands and wives, in the face of a devastating illness. The film is bolstered by its subject’s unwavering candor and surprising humor. Told through the lens of an NFL icon, the film grapples with the nature of heroism as Steve recasts his legacy into something quite antithetical to—but no less inspirational than—his on-field shows of strength and dominance.
- What: newportFILM presents a FREE screening of GLEASON. Film will be followed by conversation with director Clay Tweel
- When: Monday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m.
- Where: Jane Pickens Theater, 49 Touro Street, Newport, RI
- Cost: FREE EVENT
- RSVP: bit.ly/GleasonALSDoc