The Winner Loser

A watch and a detailed list of instructions help 52-year-old Daniel MacNee carry out his morning routine. Despite the fact that his memory has been almost entirely wiped out, this extensive system of notes allows him to live independently. At the age of 30, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain, and he has since undergone 13 brain operations. These have transformed him into a man without a past. As he says himself, he can't remember his own past, "in the normal way." In this BBC documentary by the multi-award-winning filmmaker Darren Hercher, we follow Daniel as he visits family and friends, and travels to places where important episodes in his life took place. Accompanied by a plastic bag filled with notebooks - and his knitting, which he uses to calm himself - he touches the contours of his own existence. The puzzle that he puts together piece by piece is a succession of ordeals, which he describes as amounting to an extraordinarily rich life." For Daniel, getting to grips with his past is key to providing a future for himself.