A FILM celebrating the life of a remarkable man living with a brain tumour is set to be shown in York.

Long Live My Happy Head is coming to City Screen in York city centre at 6.10pm on March 22.

It’s a touching and unexpectedly uplifting love story about a Scottish comic book artist with a brain tumour, who uses his art to communicate his experience of cancer.

Approaching his 40th birthday, Gordon has found the love of his life, Shawn - a warm-hearted and protective American man who lives in Bath County, Virginia. Their relationship may be long-distance, but they talk on the phone everyday they’re not together and visit each other as often as possible.

Although his previous comics looked at his own personal experience, for his next book Gordon has chosen to focus on the people who look after people with cancer - the carers. His tumour is growing again though, and he’s on chemotherapy whilst meeting and interviewing people who have cared for and lost their dearest loved ones.

Producer and co-director Austen McCowan, 30, will be at the York event and holding an audience Q&A after the screening, which falls in Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

He said: “We first met Gordon in 2018 when we bought one of the first copies of his book Bittersweet at the Edinburgh comic art fair.

“We were immediately struck by both the vulnerability and openness of his storytelling, and the humility and charm of his personality. It was only a few months later that we first turned on the camera and began to make this film.

“We knew from the outset that there was a lot of uncertainty around what could happen with Gordon’s health, but nothing could have prepared us for the global health crisis that gripped the planet, and the impact that would have on Gordon and Shawn.

“It could very easily have put a halt to production, but we continued filming and, as a result, we became incredibly close. We were there with them through the highs and lows of this surreal and unprecedented time, isolating ourselves for two weeks prior to key moments like their reunion after lockdown, their intimate conversations with each other about cancer and caring and even keeping Gordon’s surprise birthday zoom a secret whilst managing to capture it from outside his window.

“We always hoped that, despite the heavy subject matter, this film would be a positive story about optimism and creativity in the face of adversity - and that is what we have made. There are certainly some heart-wrenching moments, but what emerges from them is a testament to the power of art, love and humour to soothe our deepest fears of mortality and losing the people we care about most”

The film gets its world premiere on March 17 at the BFI Flare festival London in London before heading off across the UK.

Click here to book tickets for the City Screen show.