Living with Mitochondrial disease
A film by Paolo Avenati and Ian McDonald
I was Paolo
EXPLORE
Trailer
As Paolo’s mind and body fade, the documentrary he started about his own decline is completed by a fellow filmmaker ensuring his story is told and creating a poignant testament to the fragility of life, connection, and memory.
Synopsis
I Was Paolo is a profoundly personal and heartbreaking documentary about the devastating impact of mitochondrial disease—but it is also a story about filmmaking itself.
Ten years ago, at just 30, Paolo was a rising talent in the world of cinema. A graduate of the prestigious Prague Film School and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, he had already worked on major projects, including the Emmy-winning documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012), directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney. Paolo’s future as a filmmaker was full of promise.
Then his body betrayed him. Unexplained strokes, the onset of diabetes, deafness, deteriorating cognitive functions, leaving Paolo struggling to find the words that had once come so easily. Then came the crushing diagnosis: Mitochondrial Disease, a rare, degenerative, and incurable condition that was shutting his body down, piece by piece.
Faced with his own decline, Paolo did what many filmmakers would do—he turned the camera on himself. With the help of his devoted mother, Loretta, he began to tell his story to raise awareness, to leave something behind. But as his illness progressed, the film slipped further from his grasp. Suffering from advanced dementia and needing 24-hour care, Paolo can no longer finish what he started. As Loretta laments, “Paolo is like a candle burning down slowly—eventually, the flame will simply go out.”
This is where I come in. I first met Loretta in November 2022 in London while filming a campaign for more support on scientific research on mitochondrial disease. When Loretta told me about Paolo and the unfinished film, I felt an immediate connection—not just to his story, but to him. I understood why Paolo had picked up the camera. I understood his instinct to film, and I knew I had to help.
For the past two years, I have been filming Paolo and Loretta’s life - completing the documentary he could no longer make. I Was Paolo is not just a film about the impact of mitochondrial disease on one family; it is a film about storytelling itself. About a filmmaker who set out to document his own death, and another filmmaker who stepped in to make sure his story was told. A cure will come too late for Paolo. But this film will be his legacy.
Clips and stills
Filmmakers
Paolo Avenati spent his childhood and adolescence between Rome and the U.S. Paolo earned a BA in Art History and Literature from IUB, Bremen, Germany. His passion for film led him to study filmmaking at PCFE, Prague, and later pursue a Master’s Degree in Cinema Studies at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Paolo gained experience through volunteer work and internships in the film industry, most notably working on the Emmy-nominated film Mea Maxima Culpa produced directed by renowned documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney.
Ian McDonald is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. His debut feature-length documentary, Algorithms (2012), which explored young blind chess players in India, garnered numerous awards at international film festivals. Ian’s most recent feature, The First Year (2021) won the Audience Award at the North East International Film Festival. Ian has also created multi-screen films, including Who is Europe? A Film in Four Acts (2019), a split-screen documentary that won the Audience Award at the Berlin Refugees Film Festival.
Mitochondrial Disease
What Are Mitochondria?
In nearly every cell in the body, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy (called ATP). They are like power stations, supplying the energy our cells need to function. Cells make up tissues and organs in our bodies, for example the heart and liver. If our cells do not have enough energy, the tissues or organs do not work properly.
In nearly every cell in the body, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy (called ATP). They are like power stations, supplying the energy our cells need to function. Cells make up tissues and organs in our bodies, for example the heart and liver. If our cells do not have enough energy, the tissues or organs do not work properly.
What Is Mitochondrial Disease?
When a person has Mitochondrial Disease, the mitochondria in the cells are not producing enough energy. Sometimes they are not very efficient, or they do not work at all. There is huge variety in the symptoms and severity of Mitochondrial Disease. It depends on how many cells are affected and where they are in the body. Every person with Mitochondrial Disease is affected differently.
However, there are times when particular body systems are affected in a recognisable pattern and these have specific names, for example Alper's disease, Leigh’s disease, MELAS or MERRF. The parts of the body commonly affected are those that have the highest energy demands, such as brain, muscle, liver, heart and kidney. When these systems are affected, Mitochondrial Disease is usually progressive.
Available Treatments
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Mitochondrial Disease at present. Treatment is usually supportive, relieving the symptoms that can develop, for example, treating seizures with medication.
Find out more about
Support the film
We are seeking funding to complete I Was Paolo to ensure this story reaches the world and raises vital awareness of mitochondrial disease. Your support will allow us to finish production, to weave together Paolo’s powerful footage with my own, and bring our film to life.
Paolo’s voice is fading, but through this documentary, it will never be silenced. Join us in making I Was Paolo a reality.
We have already reached support from The Welcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University and generous donations from well- wishers.
But we need to raise £7,000 to get us over the line. Can you help?
How do I donate?
We have set up a PayPal account for the documentary, so 100% of all donations will go directly to supporting the documentary (crowdfunding platforms all take a percentage of donations).
You just need my PayPal username: paypal.me/IanMcDonald99 Or alternatively my email id: Ian.interventions@gmail.com
If you do not have a PayPal account, or don’t wish to open a PayPal account, then you can email us at . and a link can be sent to you where you can donate without a PayPal account. Everyone who contributes a donation will receive a thank you credit in the film by name (or as an anonymous donor if they prefer).
Thank you for reading this far and for your support!
Ian, Paolo and Loretta
February 2025
I was Paolo
Living with Mitochondrial disease
A film by Ian McDonald and Paolo Avenati
Trailer
As Paolo’s mind and body fade, the documentrary he started about his own decline is completed by a fellow filmmaker ensuring his story is told and creating a poignant testament to the fragility of life, connection, and memory.
Synopsis
I was Paolo is a profoundly personal and heartbreaking documentary about the devastating impact of mitochondrial disease—but it is also a story about filmmaking itself.
Ten years ago, at just 30, Paolo was a rising talent in the world of cinema. A graduate of the prestigious Prague Film School and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, he had already worked on major projects, including the Emmy-winning documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012), directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney. Paolo’s future as a filmmaker was full of promise.
Then his body betrayed him. Unexplained strokes, the onset of diabetes, deafness, deteriorating cognitive functions, leaving Paolo struggling to find the words that had once come so easily. Then came the crushing diagnosis: Mitochondrial Disease, a rare, degenerative, and incurable condition that was shutting his body down, piece by piece.
Faced with his own decline, Paolo did what many filmmakers would do—he turned the camera on himself. With the help of his devoted mother, Loretta, he began to tell his story to raise awareness, to leave something behind. But as his illness progressed, the film slipped further from his grasp. Suffering from advanced dementia and needing 24-hour care, Paolo can no longer finish what he started. As Loretta laments,
“Paolo is like a candle burning down slowly—eventually, the flame will simply go out.”
This is where I come in. I first met Loretta in November 2022 in London while filming a campaign for more support on scientific research on mitochondrial disease. When Loretta told me about Paolo and the unfinished film, I felt an immediate connection—not just to his story, but to him. I understood why Paolo had picked up the camera. I understood his instinct to film, and I knew I had to help.
For the past two years, I have been filming Paolo and Loretta’s life - completing the documentary he could no longer make. I Was Paolo is not just a film about the impact of mitochondrial disease on one family; it is a film about storytelling itself. About a filmmaker who set out to document his own death, and another filmmaker who stepped in to make sure his story was told. A cure will come too late for Paolo. But this film will be his legacy.
Clips and stills
Filmmakers
Paolo Avenati
Paolo Avenati spent his childhood and adolescence between Rome and the U.S. Paolo earned a BA in Art History and Literature from IUB, Bremen, Germany. His passion for film led him to study filmmaking at PCFE, Prague, and later pursue a Master’s Degree in Cinema Studies at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Paolo gained experience through volunteer work and internships in the film industry, most notably working on the Emmy-nominated film Mea Maxima Culpa produced directed by renowned documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney.
Ian McDonald
Ian McDonald is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. His debut feature-length documentary, Algorithms (2012), which explored young blind chess players in India, garnered numerous awards at international film festivals. Ian’s most recent feature, The First Year (2021) won the Audience Award at the North East International Film Festival. Ian has also created multi-screen films, including Who is Europe? A Film in Four Acts (2019), a split-screen documentary that won the Audience Award at the Berlin Refugees Film Festival.
Mitochondrial
Disease
What Are Mitochondria?
In nearly every cell in the body, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy (called ATP). They are like power stations, supplying the energy our cells need to function. Cells make up tissues and organs in our bodies, for example the heart and liver. If our cells do not have enough energy, the tissues or organs do not work properly.
In nearly every cell in the body, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy (called ATP). They are like power stations, supplying the energy our cells need to function. Cells make up tissues and organs in our bodies, for example the heart and liver. If our cells do not have enough energy, the tissues or organs do not work properly.
What Is Mitochondrial Disease?
When a person has Mitochondrial Disease, the mitochondria in the cells are not producing enough energy. Sometimes they are not very efficient, or they do not work at all. There is huge variety in the symptoms and severity of Mitochondrial Disease. It depends on how many cells are affected and where they are in the body. Every person with Mitochondrial Disease is affected differently.
However, there are times when particular body systems are affected in a recognisable pattern and these have specific names, for example Alper's disease, Leigh’s disease, MELAS or MERRF. The parts of the body commonly affected are those that have the highest energy demands, such as brain, muscle, liver, heart and kidney. When these systems are affected, Mitochondrial Disease is usually progressive.
Blog
Blog
Further resources
We are seeking funding to complete I was Paolo to ensure this story reaches the world and raises vital awareness of mitochondrial disease. Your support will allow us to finish production, to weave together Paolo’s powerful footage with my own, and bring our film to life. Paolo’s voice is fading, but through this documentary, it will never be silenced. Join us in making I was Paolo a reality.
We have already reached support from The Welcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University and generous donations from well- wishers.
But we need to raise £7,000 to get us over the line. Can you help?
How do I donate?
We have set up a PayPal account for the documentary, so 100% of all donations will go directly to supporting the documentary (crowdfunding platforms all take a percentage of donations).
You just need my PayPal username: paypal.me/IanMcDonald99 Or alternatively my email id: Ian.interventions@gmail.com
If you do not have a PayPal account, or don’t wish to open a PayPal account, then you can email us at Ian.interventions@gmail.com and a link can be sent to you where you can donate without a PayPal account.Everyone who contributes a donation will receive a thank you credit in the film by name (or as an anonymous donor if they prefer).
Thank you for reading this far and for your support!
Ian, Paolo and Loretta
July 2025