INSPIRATION

Milestone Celebrations

Surprise a loved one on their 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th… 100th birthday!  Interviews and messages are pieced together beautifully, for presentation on a large screen at their birthday celebration.

Weddings and Wedding Anniversaries

Celebrate the lives and the union of bride and groom.  The film can replace or complement the wedding speeches, and makes a unique memento for the couple - as well as a reminder of how they fell in love.

Eulogies

Honour the life of a loved one and celebrate their contribution to the world.  Integrate cherished memories of family and friends with your favourite photos and videos to create a lasting tribute.

Retirements

Thank an employee who has served your company for years with a gift that truly demonstrates that their contribution is appreciated.

Year Books

Create a montage of your favourite videos and photographs from the year… or decade!  In the age of digital technology, it’s easy to end up with reams of material that you never get a chance to appreciate.  Especially if you have young kids, a high quality documentary is a wonderful and lasting way to capture and share your memories.

Family History Library

Imagine your family having a library of Life Stories on Film for future generations… a living record of your family history.

THE FOUNDERS' INSPIRATION

Life Story on Film was conceived independently by two people living in the UK (Stephen Conway) and Australia (Renée Caneva).

Stephen Conway was inspired to find out more about his family history when he attended the funeral of his beloved Aunt Helene.  To his surprise, he learned that his great grandmother’s dress making business had been located in Hanover Square, London, where he himself owned a business 100 years later!  Stephen’s cousin, who told him this, agreed to send over a photo of the original shopfront.  When it arrived, Stephen initially had some trouble working out where in Hanover Square it was taken.  Eventually, the penny dropped, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up; his ancestors had lived and worked just two doors down from his own business.  And in the corner of this photo from 1902, he could see the very window at which he sat to work every day!

He rang his family immediately, keen to tell them of this extraordinary coincidence and find out more about his ancestors.  But sadly not much was known.  And so the idea was born to create a lasting record of family history: who, where and how his family lived.

Renée Caneva was inspired to create the first Life Story on Film for her mother, Luisa’s 50th Birthday.  It was the perfect solution to a long-running problem.  Every year it was impossible to find something that Luisa would really appreciate — her running joke was, “I’ve got everything I could ever need except money!”

Renée knew, however, that her mother loved to receive gifts and the more thoughtful the better.  She had to find a new way—the best way—to say, “I love you Mum!”  Eventually, the idea came to her: a Life Story on Film.  In secret, Renée gathered up all the members of her family who knew Luisa best.  One by one they sat in front of the camera to tell stories, share in-jokes, and do impressions of Luisa.  The final edit was very home-made, but it did the job: it was the most touching and meaningful present her mother had ever received.

Renée wondered, “What if we could make something like this to a professional standard?  Wouldn’t lots of people love to have a gift this meaningful and enjoyable?”