Founding Series · 2026 · Limited to Three Families

The Cinematic Memoir —
A Film About One Life

A multi-chapter documentary about a parent or grandparent, built around a directed interview and restored family archives — told in their own voice, while they can still tell it.

The Cinematic Memoir is a multi-chapter cinematic documentary about one person — most often a parent or grandparent. It's built around a directed family interview, archival photo restoration, and footage curated across generations. The 2026 Founding Series is offered from $5,000, limited to three families, with production running 6–10 weeks by commission.

Every family has one person whose stories everyone says someone should write down. Nobody ever does. A Cinematic Memoir does something better: it captures those stories on film, in their voice, with the photographs they lived them in — restored, graded, and cut into chapters like the documentary their life deserves.

Now accepting commissions for the 2026 Founding Series — limited to three families.

The Commission

What a Memoir Includes

Tier IIIFounding Series · 2026
III
The Cinematic Memoir
A film about someone who deserves to be remembered
From $5,000
Inaugural rate · Limited to 3 families
6–10 weeks · By commission
  • ✓ Multi-chapter cinematic film about one person
  • ✓ Directed family interview (remote or on-location)
  • ✓ Archival photo restoration
  • ✓ Multi-generational footage curation
  • ✓ Documentary-style cinematic opening
  • ✓ Premium heirloom delivery
Inquire About a Memoir

Larger legacy projects — multiple subjects, family business histories — are quoted individually. See all packages & pricing →

Not a Highlight Reel. A Documentary.

What Makes a Memoir Different

🎙

Their Own Voice

The film is anchored by a directed interview — their stories, their laugh, the way they tell it. Not captions over photos. The voice is the heirloom.

🎞

Chapters, Not Clips

A real documentary structure: childhood, the war years, how they met, the business, the family. Each chapter cut with its own pacing and score.

🖼

The Archive, Restored

Torn prints repaired, faded slides revived, old film graded. The photographs they lived their story in, brought back to carry it — and delivered as a physical heirloom.

The Process

How a Memoir Is Made

1

The Conversation

We talk about who they are, the chapters of their life, and what the family most wants captured.

2

The Interview

A directed session — remote, guided by us, or on-location with a Chicago-area cinematography partner.

3

The Archive

Photos, slides, and old footage gathered from across the family — restored, graded, and woven into chapters.

4

The Premiere

The finished film, delivered as a premium physical heirloom — made to be watched for generations.

"Milestone films should do more than show what someone looked like over the years. They should make the room feel why that person matters."

— Jeff Lavin, founder & editorial director

Commissioned Nationally, Rooted in Chicago

Cinematic Memoirs are produced for families everywhere — the directed remote interview works from any living room, and on-location shoots can be arranged. Based in Chicago and the North Shore.

Quick Answers

Cinematic Memoir Questions

A multi-chapter documentary film about one person — most often a parent or grandparent. It's built around a directed family interview, restored archival photos, and footage curated across generations, so their story is told on film in their own voice. Production runs 6–10 weeks, by commission.
The 2026 Founding Series is offered from $5,000 at an inaugural rate, limited to three families. Larger custom legacy projects — multiple subjects, family business histories, and other bespoke films — are quoted individually.
Two paths: a directed remote interview, where we guide your family through a high-quality capture at home, or an on-location shoot with a Chicago-area cinematography partner. Either way, it's a directed conversation, not an interrogation — questions prepared around their life, paced so the stories come naturally.
No. Cinematic Memoirs are produced for families nationally. The directed remote interview works anywhere, and on-location shoots outside Chicago can be arranged.
Almost every subject is, at first. The interview is a directed conversation with someone who genuinely wants to hear their stories — most people forget the camera within minutes. Families often tell us the interview itself, separate from the finished film, became one of the best afternoons they'd spent together.
Because the stories only exist while the person who lived them can still tell them. A Cinematic Memoir captures your parent's or grandparent's story in their own voice, while they're here — and becomes the film their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will know them by.
Founding Series · 2026

Their Story, On Film, In Their Voice

The 2026 Founding Series is limited to three families. Tell us who the film is about — every inquiry gets a personal reply within 24 hours.

Inquire About a Memoir Email Us Directly