Waisman Center presents documentary ‘Indestructible’

The award-winning documentary "Indestructible" will screen at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Thursday, Jan. 24.

Named best documentary at this year’s Cinequest Film Festival and fresh from the Montreal World Film Festival, this film is an autobiographical tour-de-force from Chicago filmmaker and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient Ben Byer. Writer and director Byer and producer Rebeccah Rush will be in attendance.

When 31-year-old Byer was diagnosed in 2002 with ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, he began to document his life on camera. These video diaries grew into a three-year journey that took him around the world seeking answers and maybe even a cure. A cinematic adventure filled with extraordinary characters, breathtaking landscapes and abundant humor, "Indestructible" was shot by Academy Award nominee Roko Belic ("Genghis Blues"). In his first feature film, Byer takes viewers on a global quest to survive as he gains understanding of the power of the human condition.

Light hors d’oeuvres will be served at 5 p.m., with the screening at 6 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the Friends of the Waisman Center Auditorium, 1500 Highland Ave. A panel discussion will immediately follow the screening, with filmmakers Byer and Rush and Waisman Center scientist Clive Svendsen and clinician Julie Gamradt.

The event is free; RSVP to mitchell@waisman.wisc.edu or (608) 263-5908.