Nonprofit hosts film festival for organ donation Thursday at the Little
Filmmaker Steve Hilfiker with his family. Hilfiker suffered from sarcoidosis, and a heart transplant saved his life. He will be screening his documentary about Bernie Mac's struggle with the disease Thursday night at the Rochester Night of Hope at the Little Theatre. (Provided photo: Steve Hilfiker)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Foundation for Organ Donation and Sarcoidosis Awareness Inc. will host the “Rochester Night of Hope for Organ Donation and Sarcoidosis” at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Little Theatre, 240 East Ave.
The event features films produced by the foundation to raise awareness about organ donation and sarcoidosis, the illness that nearly took filmmaker Steve Hilfiker’s life. among the films being screened is Hilfiker’s “Warriors: The Bernie Mac Disease,” a documentary about the comedian’s battle against the disease. Hilfiker himself battled terminal illness for five years before receiving the transplant that saved his life.
Hilfiker and other heart transplant survivors will be thanking University of Rochester Medical Center cardiologists on stage.
The foundation held a similar event Wednesday at Regal Cinemas in Victor, the Victor Night of Hope; and plans another Aug. 30 near Raleigh/Durham in North Carolina. The tour will continue throughout the Southeast and Florida in the fall and will return to the Northeast next May.