I Am Breathing

A moving farewell that celebrates life in the face of death.

Within a year, Neil Platt goes from being a healthy and energetic man to becoming completely paralysed from the neck down, the result of Motor Neuron Disease (MND), also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Aware that his time is running out, Neil decides to record his final journey. He creates a memory box for his baby son, Oscar, and documents his thoughts about life in a personal blog that becomes the emotional foundation of I Am Breathing.

Directed by Emma Davie and Morag McKinnon, the film transforms Neil’s reflections into an intimate and deeply human story. The camera enters his Scottish home, where he lives with his wife and child, capturing moments of tenderness, humour, and quiet resilience. The house itself becomes a character—its walls enclosing both the warmth of family life and the growing sense of confinement as Neil’s condition worsens.

Through voice recognition software, Neil continues to write on his blog, “Plattitude,” expressing his love for life, his memories of friendship and adventure, and his determination to leave something meaningful behind. His words, full of wit and wisdom, guide the narrative and offer an unflinching look at mortality without sentimentality.

Premiered at IDFA, I Am Breathing stands as a powerful essay on how image and sound can give form to the threshold between life and death. By allowing Neil to speak for himself, the film transforms personal tragedy into a universal meditation on human dignity, adaptability, and the enduring will to connect.