Breath of Life Honorees Michele and Terry Wright will debut their award-winning docudrama 54 Years Late at Little Rock’s CALS Ron Robinson Theater on Aug. 20, as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recently announced.  

 

The live screening will celebrate Arkansas native Terry Gene Wright’s 60th birthday and aims to raise $20,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. and the screening will start at 3 p.m.

 

Written and directed by Michele Wright, Ph.D. and produced by Butterbean Productions, 54 Years Late tells Terry’s true-life story as an African American man who was not diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) until the age of 54. Despite being seen by an array of health care practitioners, enduring countless hospitalizations and surgeries and having all the classic symptoms of CF, Terry spent decades looking for answers. 

 

CF is a progressive and genetic disease that’s often perceived to only affect the Caucasian population. Although CF is a rare disease, more than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the CF gene.

 

54 Years Late has won multiple awards, including Best Short Film at the Cannes Independent Film Festival and Best Original Story at the Amsterdam International Film Festival.

 

Terry and Michele are the founders of the National Organization of African Americans with CF (NOAACF), a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to connect individuals with CF, help build diverse communities and raise CF awareness within the African American community and beyond. As the 2022 Breath of Life Gala Honorees, the Wrights continue to give their time, energy and passion to raise funding for those impacted by cystic fibrosis.

 

Michele Wright, Ph.D. is the 2022 USA TODAY Woman of the Year for Arkansas. She is the recipient of the Nations of Women Change Makers 2021 Global Leadership Award and a nominee of the EveryLife Foundation of Rare Diseases’ RareVoice 2021 Award for Diversity Empowerment. 

 

Working alongside the CF community, the CF Foundation has fostered the development of more than a dozen CF treatments and helped add decades of life for people with CF. 

 

Information about tickets and donations can be found online

 

More information about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is available on the foundation website

 

READ ALSO: Little Rock Zoo Celebrates Birth of Malayan Tiger Cubs