Go On, Be Brave

Filmmakers Miriam McSpadden and Brian Beckman will be here in person for a Q&A following the screening on Thursday, October 19.

Go On, Be Brave begins with Andrea Lytle Peet’s life-altering ALS diagnosis in 2014 at the age of 33.The life expectancy for ALS is 2-5 years. She was told her disease was rapidly progressing and to get her affairs in order. She did. And like a true athlete, she decided to do one final race before she died. She walks across the finish line with trekking poles, her husband, David Peet. And then she waited. And waited. Until one day, she got tired of waiting to die. She decided to live. At the five year anniversary of her ALS diagnosis, Andrea sets an ambitious goal: be the first person with ALS to complete a marathon in all 50 US states. What starts out as one woman’s individual quest towards 50 marathons evolves into a story of community. It is about the quieter moments between the races where Andrea brings hope and joy to the people around her who have experienced harder and harsher versions of ALS. Go On, Be Brave is a meditation on life – of how each one of us chooses to live. (Dir. by Miriam McSpadden and Brian Beckman, 2022, United States, English, 111 min., Not Rated)

Other festivals: Santa Barbara International, River Run, Heartland