Cameron Duncan

Cameron Duncan (born April 20, 1986 in New Zealand , † November 12, 2003 in Texas , USA ) was a New Zealand scriptwriter and film director. He died of bone cancer at the age of 17. Shortly before his death, he wrote his autobiography during chemotherapy .

Life

Even in his youth, Duncan wanted to be successful with films. At weekends he and friends re-enacted war scenes in front of the camera. Even then, people recognized his special abilities. The turning point in his life came with the diagnosis of a malignant tumor in his knee. The cancer was treated with chemotherapy, which appeared to destroy the tumor. He dedicated his first film, DFK6498, to this time against the tumor and the “prison” hospital. After therapy, he turned back to his favorite sport, softball.

Peter Jackson, the director of Lord of the Rings , became aware of Duncan shortly after the hospital stay. Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh were the initiators of an organ donation organization and were looking for a director for a large-scale organ transplant promotion . After Duncan visited them on the Lord of the Rings set , they were fascinated by his skills.

Before Duncan could finish working on organ donation advertising, cancer returned. This time the chances of recovery were very bad. During therapy, Duncan finished planning advertising so he could go back to his own projects. In the last months of his life, Cameron Duncan created a short film called Strike Zone in which he wanted to reflect his unjust life. During filming, the cancer made a hole in his lungs. Nevertheless, Duncan saw the completion of his last work and only died shortly afterwards on November 12, 2003. His funeral took place exactly as he wrote it down in his autobiography.

Works

In addition to numerous clips, Cameron Duncan developed two commercials, one on road safety and one on organ donation and two films. In both films, he reflected his battle with cancer.

DFK6498

DFK6498 is about Duncan's first experience with bone cancer at the age of 16. He loved to play softball and dreamed of playing for New Zealand but was unable to do so because of his left leg bone cancer. In the film, he portrays the hospital stay like a kind of prison and shows how he feels about his illness. He admonishes those around him to appreciate the little things in life and tries to show how good most people have it just because they are not sick. The film is about ten minutes long and was shot shortly after his chemotherapy. He himself was a director and script writer and played the main role.

Strike Zone

Shortly after Duncan learned that he only had two months to live, he turned to his autobiographical film. The author and director is Duncan himself. It was produced by Sharon Duncan, and the cameraman was Rhys Duncan. The film shows a softball fan who decides to live the last days of his life as a coach for a softball team. He wants to anchor himself immortally in history and never be forgotten. In the end, the coach dies in the team's last and most important match.

Cameron Duncan was a softball player and softball fan himself. In his film he shows that his short life should not be forgotten. At the end of the video, Duncan shows how he wants to be buried: on a hill overlooking a softball field.

Awards

Cameron Duncan won several awards for his work. His previous commercial on road safety in New Zealand and the one for organ donation received the Fair Go Ad Award .

memories

Peter Jackson dedicated the song Into the West to the creative filmmaker. The song was played at his funeral, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, and is featured in Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . The Special Extended Edition of the film also features a documentary about Cameron Duncan and his advertising spots for organ donation and road safety, as well as his two films.

Web links

• Cameron Duncan in the Internet Movie Database (English)