1. Do the scientists present data or information during the symposium? This fi lm tells the true story of young Lorenzo Odone, who suff ers from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), an incurable degenerative brain disorder. (Six actors and actresses play Lorenzo throughout the fi lm.)

Physicians and medical scientists off er little help to Lorenzo’s desperate parents, Michaela (Susan Sarandon)

and Augusto (Nick Nolte). They use their resources to learn about ALD to try to save their son. Director George Miller cowrote the script, which benefi ted from his medical training as a physician.

Six months after Lorenzo’s ALD diagnosis, his condition fails to improve with a restricted diet. Michaela and Augusto continue their research at the National Institutes of Health library in Bethesda, Maryland.

Michaela fi nds a report of a critical Polish experiment that showed positive eff ects of fatty acid manipulation in rats. Convinced that a panel of experts could systematically focus on their problem, they help organize the First International ALD Symposium. This scene is an edited version of the symposium sequence that appears about midway through the fi lm. The fi lm continues with the Odones’ eff orts to save their son.