The filmmaker who chronicled Prince Frederik of Luxembourg’s battle with the uncommon genetic dysfunction PolG has shared her expertise working with the royal, who handed away on Mar. 1 at 22.
Commissioned by Frederik’s mom, Princess Julia of Nassau, to helm an academic brief movie in regards to the illness with Frederik at its middle, director Mei Fa Tan stated she was left “inspired” by the prince but in addition discovered it “painful to watch” him wrestle along with his well being.
Frederik’s loss of life was revealed by his father, Prince Robert, the primary cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, in an announcement on the web site of the POLG Basis, a corporation Frederik based to advertise analysis and discover a remedy for the illness.
Affecting roughly 1 in 5,000 folks, the genetic dysfunction robs the physique’s cells of vitality, inflicting progressive a number of organ dysfunction and failure.
Six months previous to the royal’s premature passing, his basis launched the brief movie directed by Tan on Sep. 4, 2024 for Mitochondrial Consciousness Week.
“[He was] so interested in so many topics,” Tan informed Us Weekly on Wednesday. “He would love to talk about basically anything. Mostly film and music … But his body would not allow him to do as much. So that was really painful to watch because he was trying his best.”
Frederik’s illness was so superior that, at occasions, he “couldn’t even get up by himself,” Tan stated.
“I mean, the situation is very grave, but he would always keep his dignity in all situations and keep his sense of humor,” she shared.
“I thought it was very, very sad, and I was very touched by this because this is not how life is supposed to go,” Tan added. “For Frederick, he just started to experience lots of things, and everything was taken away from him, bit by bit in an inevitable way. I found this very hurtful.”
Tan labored straight with Frederik on the challenge, assembly with him a number of occasions earlier than she wrote the movie’s script.
Of the movie’s opening, which reveals the prince watching a collection of house films from his childhood, Tan defined that she needed to point out “all the things he used to do that he can’t be doing anymore.”
“When you’re a kid, you’ve got all these dreams, all these aspirations, these things you want to do. The possibilities are endless,” Frederik stated in a voice-over narration in the beginning of the movie. “I’m not sure I understood all the consequences of PolG when I first got diagnosed. It’s more subtle, where slowly, the world is getting smaller and smaller.”
Although born with the illness, Frederik wasn’t identified with PolG till he was 14.
Tan additionally revealed that the vitality on set was “very positive” and “light,” even with the movie’s weighty subject.
“I think it was very brave of all the kids who participated in the film because they really took it seriously,” she stated of the brief’s different topics. “But they also let their inner joy and spirit still be there.”
Educating herself about PolG was a “learning curve,” Tan added.
“In a sense, it was good because I could really put myself in the position of someone who didn’t know anything about that disease, which would be the case for most people watching the film,” she defined. “I think it’s kind of a lesson, you know. Sometimes, you reconsider your life when you see people that they have it so bad, their days are counted, and they still find a way to be inspiring, to be positive and to do their best.”
In his message asserting Frederik’s loss of life, Prince Robert praised his son’s tireless efforts to boost consciousness in regards to the illness and fund analysis to discover a remedy for PolG, calling him, “my Superhero.”
“The POLG Foundation, in only three short years, has accomplished so very much, including funding four major research projects, totaling over $3.6 million,” Robert stated of Frederik’s work to assist others identified with PolG.
The younger royal additionally partnered with designer Donna Karan to develop the MITO clothes line, promoting gadgets by his POLG Basis to additional the group’s efforts.
As well as, Frederik participated in medical trials which helped to develop cell strains for analysis throughout Switzerland, the US and Europe.
His work laid the inspiration for The POLG Toolbox, an important useful resource for scientists, his proud father stated.
