VIDEO: One Man's Battle: Sean Rising. By Geniusofdespair

A friend's daughter, in New York, did this short (7 minute) documentary, for a school project, about Sean, a man who survived a car crash. Sean's brain was without oxygen for 35 minutes.

Following is an article about the project:
Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press

Ross student film wins awards and shares a message of hope
By Oliver Peterson

Alexa Barrett started out wanting to tell one man’s story about overcoming the insurmountable, but when the Southampton resident and Ross School student completed her first documentary at the age of 15 last November, she had not only created an award-winning film, but a tool for inspiration and healing.

Winner of best documentary in the 2008 East End Student Film Festival, best student film in the 2008 Long Island Film Festival and winner of the 2008 International Student Media Festival, “Sean Rising” is the story of Sean Biesty, a survivor of a 2002 car crash who was without oxygen for 35 minutes and revived as a quadriplegic unable to speak. Doctors told him his life was over, but six years later, Mr. Biesty, now 27, has returned from the brink of death and catatonia and continues to fight and make progress beyond all expectations.

Because of Mr. Biesty’s drive and accomplishments, including walking after doctors said he would never walk again, and Alexa’s ability to tell his remarkable story without pretense or melodrama, “Sean Rising” is being shown to brain injured patients, including soldiers returning from Iraq. It was recently shown to New York State Senator Kemp Hannon, one of the lawmakers responsible for creating policy for the care of brain injured patients, and, according to Alexa, New York State lawmakers have said the film is “central to conveying the importance of giving injured people hope.”

An official selection of the Hamptons International Film Festival, “Sean Rising” will be screened at the East Hampton UA theater as part of the Youth Media program at 11 a.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. The seven-and-a-half-minute movie has been selected for five film festivals and it is garnering awards and praise, but for its young creator, the real magic is how the documentary is helping people like Mr. Biesty.

“I was jumping up and down when I heard about that,” Alexa said, describing the moment when she learned her film could give soldiers a boost of hope. “Helping other people, I think that’s the most wonderful feeling,” she added. Now 16 and a junior at Ross, Alexa said she’s taken all the film electives her school offers and she’s continuing her work with an independent study this year.

She shot “Sean Rising” using top-of-the-line equipment available to students in a documentary class taught by Marie Maciak at Ross last year. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” Alexa said of her teachers and the well-equipped program at Ross.

The powerful story was made on a shoestring budget and Alexa’s mother, local attorney Jean Hazelton, said the only expenses were in travel, a couple of lights and some duct tape. The young filmmaker finished “Sean Rising” in March and the buzz and excitement it created has led to nearly 4,000 hits on YouTube, where it’s available for viewing here.

“I’m happy that it was so successful,” Mr. Biesty said on Monday. He was recovering at his parents’ home in Brooklyn when Alexa filmed the movie. Mr. Biesty still lives in Brooklyn, but today he’s independent and capable of living on his own. A 24-hour home health aide helps him with day-to-day tasks, but Mr. Biesty’s level of recovery is nothing short of miraculous, according to Alexa, her mother, and Elizabeth Keeting, his health aide, who helped him with a phone interview this week.

“I’m just like you, but I can’t talk or move fully like you,” Mr. Biesty said in the film, pointing to his head and adding, “I’m the same up here.” He elaborated on the phone and said that although his speech is slow and sometimes difficult to understand, his mind is as sharp as ever. “My memory is good,” Mr. Biesty said.

“He had a superior intelligence before the accident and he maintained it after,” Ms. Keeting said, remarking on her patient’s challenging situation.

In “Sean Rising,” Mr. Biesty says that he woke from a three-week coma and initially communicated only by blinking, squeezing people’s hands and sticking out his tongue. In time, he said, he began using hand signals to say yes and no and eventually learned to speak again.

Formerly an assistant basketball coach at Poly Prep High School and a college student who worked two jobs, Mr. Biesty said he hopes to return to school and work and “to live as close to a normal life as I can.”

Alexa said her new friend is walking more and she noted that he’s improved drastically in the months since they first met. Recently, Mr. Biesty was able to ascend two flights of stairs, she said.

Mr. Biesty attends all the film festival screenings of “Sean Rising,” adding that he was humbled to be featured in Alexa’s film. “I was like, ‘Who? Me?’” he said, recalling Alexa’s request to document his story. Mr. Biesty now understands the importance of the film and the significance of his accomplishments, but he also noted that he’s amazed by Alexa, her potential, and how pleased he is with her success. “She’s a sensitive person, and real,” he said.