The sister of a renowned Suffolk filmmaker who fought brain cancer with “determination and incredible strength” is calling for more research into the disease following his death.
Adrian Vitoria, who worked with the likes of Sean Bean, Danny Dyer and Robert De Niro, lost his battle with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an incurable brain tumour, on November 20, 2016, at the age of 48.
His sister, Simonetta Stonehouse, has paid tribute to her “lovely, charismatic and very talented brother”, who directed popular soaps including Brookside, Hollyoaks and Casualty, as well as acclaimed films such as Age of Heroes, The Crew and Heist.
The loss has galvanised Simonetta, of Lavenham, to campaign for greater investment in brain tumour research.
Brain tumours kill more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet it receives just 1% of the UK’s spend on cancer research.
Simonetta said: “The brain tumour, GBM, caused many problems for Adrian.
“It affected his memory and his sight which took away his ability to read and write, something he loved to do as a film director and writer.
“His speech deteriorated which was difficult for Adrian and his mobility declined in his final months.
“It was tortuous for the family to see Adrian, my lovely, charismatic and very talented brother, suffer in this way and heart-breaking knowing there was no cure for this terrible disease.”
She added: “Too many people, mostly young people, are dying from this devastating disease and the only way to prevent this is by investing more funds into research to find a cure.”
Adrian, who attended St Joseph’s College in Ipswich, was diagnosed with GBM in May 2015 while he was in America directing a movie called A New York Story.
He was taken into surgery where 95% of the tumour was removed, and then he returned to London for further treatment.
While undergoing chemotherapy, Adrian was approached to direct a short movie called Leni Leni, a story about German filmmaker and Nazi propagandist, Leni Riefenstahl. It has already been screened at four film festivals including Cannes and Moscow.
Simonetta said: “Despite Adrian’s ongoing treatment, he directed this film Leni Leni which showed his strength of character and his love and passion for his craft.
“Adrian was not going to let this disease get in his way or stop him from making films, which was his passion.”
In August 2016 Adrian, who also had a brother, Richard Bastick, was told by his consultant that they could do nothing more for him, so he returned to Suffolk with his wife, actress Rosie Fellner, to be close to his family.
“Tragically this battle was one that Adrian could not beat despite his determination and incredible strength,” Simonetta added.
While Adrian was in Suffolk, The Abbeygate Cinema in Bury St Edmunds held a screening of Leni Leni for his family and friends at no cost. The event raised £550 in donations, which Simonetta gave to the charity Brain Tumour Research (BTR).
Adrian’s funeral, which was held at Lavenham Church on December 8, 2016 with a reception at Kentwell Hall in Long Melford, was attended by more than 200 people from all over the world.
Kieran Breen, director of research at BTR, said: “There’s a great lack of awareness of brain tumours and of their devastating effects.
“We did a survey of people a couple of months ago asking what do they think is the biggest cancer killer of young people, and the majority said leukaemia, whereas in fact it is brain tumours.
“That resonates true with the actual funding. There is this lack of understanding so there is this lack of funding.
“At the moment if the under-funding continues there’s no way that we can get anywhere near a cure, we need to increase spend to make £30milllion to £35m a year just to bring us up to the level of, for example, breast cancer and leukaemia.
“When there’s more money there’s more onus, more research, better treatment, better cures.”
For more information on brain tumour research, click here.
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