A man without a heart makes an emotional appeal to encourage all Belgians to become an organ donor.
Christophe De Fonseca, who’s from Belgium, died on June 25, 2014. He fell from his bike after his heart stopped beating. It was the last time he would feel a heartbeat. When he woke up in a hospital it was silent in his chest. And it stayed silent. The heartbeat that makes us all feel human was gone.
He calls himself RoboCop, not because he’s extraordinarily strong, but because just like the fictional character he lives on a machine, like a machine. A small pump in his chest replaces his big heart and a battery around his belly keeps it going. Just like we want our smartphones fully charged at any time, for him it’s vital that his mechanical heart is plugged in as much as possible.
Christophe can live without a heart, but the remaining quality of life is minimal at best. He was once an airline pilot with a passion for flying, but that had to be put on hold.
In a touching film, Looking for a Heartbeat from the transplant charity Reborn to be Alive, Christophe goes on a quest for spectacular actions that would skyrocket the heart rate of any normal person. He tries cycling, drifting in a fast car, flying but to no avail.
The only thing that can give him back the sensation of a beating heart is an organ donation.
Shortly before releasing this film Christophe passed away. However, it was his wish to make this project happen, no matter what. Because there are thousands of people who still have a chance to survive. Like this we are reminded again of the crucial importance of organ donation.
The film was created by the Belgian advertising agency Duval Guillaume and directed by Gijs Polspoel of production house Roses Are Blue.
