Ledbury man’s journey from coma to artist turned into film

A man who was in a coma for 31 days and woke to discover he had an exceptional talent for art is to have his remarkable story made into a film.

Moe Hunter from Ledbury, in Herefordshire, became seriously ill with tuberculosis and bacterial meningitis in 2004, but he baffled medics and family members with his newfound creative abilities.

“I was terrible [at art],” said about his life before the coma. “Everyone used to laugh at me because I couldn’t even write creative stories. I used to just write copies.”

Filmmakers were so impressed by his story that a documentary about his experience is due to start filming in Hereford on 26 April.

The 41-year-old explained that he discovered his new talent after a chat with his mother during his recovery.

“I said to my mum, I want to do something different; I want to make an impact, and she suggested I make some toy boxes,” he said.

“I started this box, and it was inspired by The Legend of Zelda.”

He said he got so lost in the work that he did not know what he had created until his brother woke him up – his illness had left him with brain damage that had caused him to black out.

“My brother was like, ‘Wake up, wake up. Who drew that?’

“He asked me when did I become an artist, and I said, ‘Last night’,” he joked.

Mr Hunt said after he had finished one of his drawings, he put it on a gaming website, and people from around the world were stunned by his work.

“I put it on some of the big gaming websites, and I had 88,000 impressions within a few hours.

“People from New York to Texas wanted to buy it and I kid you not, from there it was like a snowball effect.

“Everything I touched just came to life.”

His art became so popular that the likes of comedian Leigh Francis noticed his work and invited him onto his show, The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft, on Channel 4.

Producer Jake Parker, who worked on films such as Deadpool, Wolverine and Barbie has been raising funds for the documentary called Moe the Maker: From Coma to Creative.

“I realised Jake Parker and I were following each other on Instagram, so I messaged him and asked for advice about getting my documentary made.

“I told him my story; he was blown away by it and said he would produce it.”