‘The Public Diagnosis’ captures the moment Amy Stephenson’s son Lachie was diagnosed with Brain Cancer at the age of 19. To raise awareness of this terminal disease, patients and their families are sharing their private moments of diagnosis for the public to see. This emotive short film illustrates the power of making private moments public. The film portrays a series of memories and photographs relating to Amy and Lachie’s lives and the tears shed because of the diagnosis.

‘The Public Diagnosis’ captures the moment Amy Stephenson's son Lachie was diagnosed with brain cancer. Rejecting realism in favour of emotional truth, the edit emphasises the fragmented, dream-like quality of memory; a feeling of recalling details from the past guides the journey of the film, foregrounding the small, often overlooked aspects of life. The edit unfolds from left to right through 5 custom-built sets, utilising elegant, well conceived cuts to create a sense of effortless fluidity. Blasts of flashing light are employed throughout the ‘memory vignettes’ to imitate the flash of a camera, and gesture to the idea of ‘mental images’ being taken.