Free mini-documentary films for families facing illness
Every life is a story
worth keeping.
We sit down with people living through serious illness or life-changing injury and make a short documentary of their life, in their own words. The family keeps it forever. They never pay for it.
Hospital, hospice or social worker? Refer a participant
$0
cost to every family we film
12
life stories planned in our first year
5
storytelling programs for patients, families and caregivers
4 wks
from first conversation to finished film
Why we exist
Illness can change a family overnight.
The stories should not disappear with it.
Too often the voice, the humor and the hard-won wisdom of the person at the center are never recorded. Grandchildren grow up hearing about someone instead of hearing from them.
To make our free legacy films, Beyond the Vision brings a professional film crew into the living room, the hospital room or the backyard that matters most, and helps a person say what they want remembered.
On set · living-room interview
Our programs
Five ways we tell a story
RUNTIME 10–15 MIN
RUNTIME 10–15 MIN
RUNTIME 5–10 MIN
RUNTIME 5–10 MIN
RUNTIME 2–3 MIN
Legacy Storytelling
Memorial Legacy
Youth Legacy
Caregiver Storytelling
Fundraising Advocacy
A life told in the person’s own words, for the family to keep.
For families who have said goodbye and want the story told well.
Room for young people to share their dreams and their courage.
Honoring the people who show up every single day.
A short feature that helps a community rally around a family.
How a story gets made
From first call to finished film in about four weeks
Week 0
1
Week 1
2
Week 1–2
3
Week 2–4
4
Week 4
5
Refer
A hospice, hospital or family reaches out through this site.
Consult
We meet the participant and family, shape their vision and sign consent.
Film
A one or two day shoot in a place that matters to them.
Edit
A professional cut with the family's input, music and photos woven in.
Deliver
A private premiere, a secure digital copy and keepsake media.
Ways to give
Put a story on film
Sources: American Cancer Society, Cancer Statistics, 2026; CDC, Preventing Chronic Disease (2024).
The need
Serious illness touches nearly every family in America
2.1M
new cancer diagnoses expected in the U.S. in 2026, about 5,800 a day
626K
Americans expected to die of cancer in 2026
3 in 4
U.S. adults live with at least one chronic health condition
Stay close to the work
One story, once a month.
Behind-the-scenes notes from set, new premieres when families say yes, and the occasional invitation. Never more than one email a month.
