Race against time

Shooting a new biopic about TE Lawrence’s final years held a particular urgency for its Lymington cameraman

- Duncan Hall

As Lymington cinematographer Simon Lawrence was making award-winning British biopic Lawrence After Arabia last year he didn’t know whether he would see the final movie.

In March 2017 Simon, who also worked as cameraman, focus puller and assistant editor on the low-budget movie, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer sarcomatoid mesothelioma, and given only three weeks to live. Earlier this year he celebrated the third anniversary of his diagnosis and is penning a self-help book Dare To Live about his experiences. “I’ve certainly messed around with their statistics,” says Simon, whose condition has remained stable since a course of chemotherapy in June 2017, although he has been warily keeping an eye on the spread of coronavirus. “I have been writing about the mind, and how to keep a strong mind, for 25 years. Dealing with a death sentence like this has shown the mind is stronger than the body.”

Simon first got involved in Lawrence After Arabia in late 2017 when he met director, writer and producer Mark Griffin through a mutual friend in France. “He said he had this script that he’d spent six years writing,” says Simon. “As soon as he said it was about TE Lawrence my ears pricked up.” Starring Bournemouth’s Tom Barber-Duffy, Lawrence After Arabia focuses on the heroic figure’s final years in Dorset and explores the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death on a motorcycle.