Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien

For the fictional account of Mark O'Brien's search for a partner, see The Sessions (2012 film).

Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
Film poster
Directed by	Jessica Yu
Written by	Jessica Yu
Produced by	Jessica Yu
Starring	Mark O'Brien
Cinematography	Shana Hagan
Edited by	Jessica Yu
Production companies	Inscrutable Films Pacific News Service
Distributed by	Fanlight Productions
Release date	1996 (1996)
Running time	35 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien is a 1996 American short documentary film directed by Jessica Yu.

Film

It won an Oscar at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997 for Documentary Short Subject. ^{[1] [2]}

Mark O'Brien was a journalist and poet who lived in Berkeley, California. The documentary explored his spiritual struggle coping with his disability; he had to use an iron lung much of the time due to childhood polio. O'Brien died on July 4, 1999, from post-polio syndrome. ^[3]

Cast

• Mark O'Brien as Himself
• Elizabeth Duvall as Herself
• Ian Berzon as Himself

References

1. "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
2. "New York Times: Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
3. "Mark O'Brien's web site". Mark O'Brien's site. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011.

External links

• Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien at IMDb
• Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien at Fanlight Productions
• Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien at Icarus Films, parent of Fanlight Productions