ed eerily similar to my uncle's experience about
15 years earlier, when he learned that he had
ALS," Fujita says. "Steve's 2011 diagnosis was
devastating, but he immediately decided that he
wouldn't let this disease take over his life."
After recording video journals for nearly two
years, Steve and Michel decided to hand the
footage off to filmmakers. Fujita and some friends
started outlining movie ideas in 2013, and they
saw "Gleason" through to its 2016 Sundance Film
Festival debut. Amazon and Open Road Films
then partnered on the movie's wider release.
Director Clay Tweel and his team edited more
than 1,300 hours of footage to create the docu-
mentary, including scenes captured by filmmak-
ers who lived with Michel and Steve after he
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 6 141
Gleason and Fujita with Gleason's son
Rivers. Fujita and his wife and kids are
now Carmel Valley residents.
The Gleasons enjoying some playful time together; Steve uses a wheelchair now but
his ALS digression has plateaued and he communicates with eye tracking technology.
Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Photo: Suzanne Alford
