Documentary Films

Connect with nature, peers & yourself

Please watch our TWO documentary-style short films!

Over the last several years we have put a lot of love, sweat and tears to create two different documentary-style short films, To The Stranger Who Has Loved You (50 minutes), and At the Intersection (14 minutes), to offer but a window into the "plight, fight, and might" of the day to day lives of young adults and caregivers affected by cancer.

Beautiful, artistic, honest and poignant...I have a new appreciation for the unique challenges faced by young adult cancer survivors, specifically as they relate to isolation and identity." - Kimberly Webster, MA, Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

"Incredible...so moving...I felt like I knew the people by the end." - Andrea Lee, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern Medicine

Outstanding! You really come away with a sense of how the treks help them deal with what life has given them." - Ann Shirk, Foglia Family Foundation

"Spectacular. Relatable. Moving." - Kimberly Duchossois, The Duchossois Family Foundation

"Incredibly powerful!" - Tyler Ketterl, MD, MS, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, Seattle Children’s Hospital

Fantastic, powerful work!" - Gloria Yeh, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Official Trailer

Select Cut: I noticed how quiet it was

Select Cut: Something new will always grow back

We are excited to share a 50-minute short documentary film, To the Stranger Who Has Loved You, which closely follows young adult survivors Lindsey and Lizzie, and Lizzie's husband Justin, as they grapple in their own ways with all of the "usual suspect" issues that young adults and caregivers with cancer can face - loss of identity, goal interference, body betrayal, pain, treatment-related side effects and hassles, relationship discord, depression, anxiety, fear, and the list goes on. And all of that on top of all of the other “regular stuff” that comes with being a young adult. Each of them chose to go on a True North Trek where they would have opportunities to connect with nature, connect with peers, and connect with themselves through mindfulness meditation and yoga.

Stand in the hiking boots of young adults affected by cancer and the different ways it has changed their lives. Hike and paddle alongside them as they enter the wilderness of their lives following cancer treatment. And know the power of finding and being found as a young adult or caregiver affected by cancer on a True North Trek.

Watch "To the Stranger Who Has Loved You"

Join True North Treks alum JulieAnn Villa as she shares her "life at the intersection" of being a longtime endurance athlete, MIT graduate, educator, member of the Latine community, 3-time cancer survivor, and person living with a physical disability. JulieAnna sadly passed away on May 27th, 2023 at the age of 48, shortly after this film came out, but she was able to watch it and shared the following comments with us: "I am thrilled! I love the name. It took my breath away at capturing what I could not about where I am/was when I told my story. I just read about TNT's See Be Free Initiative I am honored to lend my voice to this. Truly as I read moreabout the initiatives, I am so excited to hear about this and how it resonates with my values."