My understanding of legacy was always vague, something in the background of life, never a topic for everyday conversation. Frankly, I didn’t give much thought to what my parents would leave behind until a significant shift in our family’s finances led us to establish a philanthropic foundation.
Suddenly, the concept of legacy took center stage. I started grappling with the deeper meanings of money, responsibility, privilege, and the potential complexities of inherited wealth. This introspection led me to a crucial question: What would my parents’ legacy truly be, and how would it shape the generations of our film family to come?
Inheriting wealth and possessing the capacity for impactful philanthropy is undoubtedly a remarkable gift. It holds the potential to foster personal growth, strengthen family bonds, and contribute positively to the world. However, realizing these benefits requires careful planning and thoughtful guidance. We are all aware of the potential pitfalls that can accompany inherited wealth. It can become a source of division within families, leaving subsequent generations feeling adrift, disconnected from the source of their affluence, and even from themselves and each other.
One powerful way to mitigate these risks and cultivate positive outcomes is for the wealth creator to actively share their story. This act of sharing becomes a conduit for communicating core values, providing future generations with a shared foundation of roots and identity, and celebrating a life rich with achievements, passions, and philanthropic endeavors. In essence, it’s about crafting a meaningful legacy that extends far beyond mere financial inheritance – a legacy that can guide, influence, and inspire those who follow in their footsteps.
As a filmmaker with over two decades of experience in producing diverse films, I realized I could leverage my skills to assist my parents in articulating their story and transmitting this profound legacy through the medium of film. When I proposed the idea of a “film family” legacy project, my family immediately recognized its inherent value. However, they naturally wondered what such a project would entail. Drawing upon my filmmaking background, I knew I wanted to create something more impactful than static interviews and family photographs. My vision was to capture my parents in moments that truly embodied their values and character – moments that would vividly bring their story to life. I aimed to produce a film that could be revisited and cherished by generations to come, a genuine and heartfelt testament to their lives.
My production partner and I embarked on the process by developing a story outline. This included identifying key individuals for interviews and defining the overarching themes that would weave through the film. Given my parents’ Israeli heritage, we decided to emphasize their deep love for Israel, alongside their core values of honesty, integrity, and commitment to community service. We also carefully selected scenes to film, focusing on locations from their past that held deep personal significance and promised to evoke authentic emotional and even humorous moments. Recognizing that my family had already taken the significant step of creating a family constitution (another vital tool for legacy building), we decided to frame the film by using the signing of this constitution as a symbolic beginning and end point.
Before the cameras started rolling, I immersed myself in boxes overflowing with old family photographs and videos. To my delight, I unearthed charming 8mm home movies from my parents’ early years in the 1970s, and precious footage of my sisters and me as babies. Organizing these visual treasures, I created thematic piles that corresponded to different chapters of my parents’ lives, effectively building a visual narrative to complement their story. After all, compelling visuals that resonate with the spoken narrative are paramount in creating an engaging film. (An unexpected bonus of undertaking a legacy film project is the impetus it provides to finally digitize and organize those cherished but often neglected old photos tucked away in attics.)
Parents lovingly watching over their child, symbolizing family legacy and parental guidance
Filming the interviews and capturing the chosen scenes spanned approximately eight days, followed by six weeks dedicated to the editing process. The final result was a compelling 43-minute film. We also crafted a shorter version, better suited for sharing with individuals outside our immediate family. As the primary language of the film was Hebrew, we ensured accessibility by creating an English subtitled version for family members – both present and future – who may not be Hebrew speakers.
At our next family gathering, we held a viewing of the legacy film for everyone. It was incredibly heartwarming to witness my parents’ faces light up as they watched their story unfold on screen. Afterwards, it was deeply rewarding to hear the enthusiastic feedback from every family member who had enjoyed the film. More profoundly, my father shared that “the process of making this film significantly helped me to reflect more deeply on my legacy and what I truly want to leave behind.” My older sister echoed this sentiment, noting that the film “genuinely captured our family’s values,” and shared how her teenage daughters had exclaimed that they “learned so many new things about the family.”
Creating this legacy film made me feel a powerful connection to the future generations of our film family, including those who will never have the chance to meet my parents in person but will nonetheless inherit the profound impact of their lives. The film offers them a window into who my parents were as individuals, and it is my hope that they will be both inspired and unified by their story. Furthermore, the film serves practical purposes. I can envision a future scenario where, for instance, the board of our family foundation decides to invite my grandchildren to become members. Though they will not have known my parents directly, they will inherit the responsibility of making grants aligned with the context of their legacy. The film will equip them with a deep understanding of my parents’ philanthropic aspirations and the core values that motivated them to establish the foundation.
By embarking on this “film family” legacy project, I was able to convey so much that holds deep meaning for my parents. I, in turn, learned invaluable new facets of their lives and the rich tapestry of our family history. So much so, that now their stories have indeed become engaging topics of conversation at dinner parties. And, in a way, this journey has sparked my own reflection, inspiring me to actively shape the legacy I wish to leave behind.
You can preview a trailer of the Lion family legacy film below.
LION LEGACY FILM -Trailer (English)
This is “LION LEGACY FILM -Trailer (English)” by MYLKmedia.com on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
