“My Turn”

A film about the courageous final years of Scott Matzka’s life and his battle with ALS. The film is an official selection of the 2019 Freep Film Fest, the JellyFEST Film Festival, and was screened at the Ronald Reagan Building (Washington DC) as part of Rare Disease Week on the hill.

This film started as a conversation about Scott (a former professional hockey player who has been diagnosed with ALS & is now running a campaign called My Turn) and his mission to bring awareness and aid to the ALS cause. We had been asked to produce a short video to feature on the “My Turn” website, but we knew that this was a more emotionally complex story than a 5-minute video could contain - and we knew that a film could have a broader and deeper impact.

Scott and his wife, Catie, allowed us to partner with them in documenting their story. We set out to document the moments in Scott's life that matter most, and all of the amazing ways that his friends and family have reached out to support his cause. Our journey has taken us to Cardiff, Wales, UK (Home of the Cardiff Devils), Yost Ice Arena (University of Michigan's Hockey Arena) in Ann Arbor, MI, Port Huron, MI and many filming sessions in the Kalamazoo area. Being a part in their journey has been an incredible honor.

Our hope is to tell Scott’s story with ALS as best as we can, and give a first-hand perspective on how his life has changed since being diagnosed with ALS.

Our heart is to capture his incredible legacy and do our part (take our turn) to help educate, support and raise awareness of ALS. We are excited to share this story and hope it motivates folks to take their turn.