Donegal man Michael Harte has won a Critics Choice Documentary Award for his work on Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
The Apple TV+ film took home five top awards last night, including Best Editing for Harte, Best Documentary Feature, Best Biographical Documentary, Best Director and Best Narration, which was done by actor Michael J. Fox himself.
Michael Harte is credited for his spellbinding work on the documentary that tells the story of Hollywood star Michael J Fox’s life with young-onset Parkinson’s disease.
The magic of the documentary is a blend of interview footage with Fox himself and archive clips from his wide-ranging career, diligently edited by Michael Harte.
Letterkenny man Michael, son of Jimmy and Mary Harte, was a lifelong fan of Back to the Future and all of Michael J Fox’s films, which made the project so special.
“It was tough but it was so rewarding when it paid off,” Harte said.
Michael J Fox previously said that the editing was so powerful that it moved him to tears. One stand-out moment was when the documentary revisits Fox falling in love with his now-wife Tracy Pollan by reviving a scene from ‘Bright Lights, Big City’.
Fox said: “The way Michael Harte did that still makes me cry when I watch it. When I saw the use of that footage in that context, I went, “This guy is in love with her big-time.” And that was what was happening in real life.”
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie • Apple TV+ • An Apple Original Film in association with Concordia Studio
Director Davis Guggenheim commended Harte’s techniques and said: “Michael Harte, the film’s editor and my creative partner on it, brought a brilliant and form-breaking idea to this, which was to use scenes from Michael’s work to portray his actual life. Luckily, we had a lot of great Michael J. Fox clips to work with. “
Harte is also nominated for a Primetime Emmy award for STILL in the Outstanding Picture Editing category.
Harte has previously enjoyed success at the BAFTAs for his editing work on Don’t F–k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer.
Another critically acclaimed project, ‘Three Identical Strangers’ earned Harte an Emmy nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Picture Editing. Harte’s other credits include Beckham on Netflix, the Emmy nominated “On The President’s Orders,” and “Torn” which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.
