When Hollywood needs a compelling storyline, a plot that involves organ transplantation can be extremely poignant. Trouble is, filmmakers tend to take too much creative license and end up distorting the facts.
Fortunately, our friends at Donate Life Hollywood are keeping moviemakers honest—and saving lives in the process. The organization connects storytellers with Donate Life consultants to help filmmakers tell more authentic stories about donation and transplantation.
“When we judge a film, DLH looks at how the storyline makes the audience feel about our cause,” says Tenaya Wallace, DLH founder. “While no organ donation film is perfect, these are some of the best that Hollywood has to offer and leave us hopeful and inspired.”
- 2Hearts
2020 DLH Inspire Award Winner
For two couples the future unfolds in different decades and different places, but a hidden connection will bring them together in a way no one could have predicted. A college student falls madly in love with a classmate, while a Cuban exile falls for a beautiful flight attendant. - Return to Me
Heartbroken and struggling emotionally after his wife dies in a car accident, Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) agrees to go on a blind date set up by his friend Charlie (David Alan Grier). Though the date fizzles, sparks fly between Bob and the waitress, Grace (Minnie Driver), a recovered heart transplant patient with intimacy problems of her own. When Bob discovers Grace’s heart came from his own organ donor wife, an unusual romance blossoms between the two. - A Question of Faith
2020 DLH Inspire Award Winner
When tragedy strikes three families, their destiny forces them on a converging path to discover God’s love, grace and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs. Will the families give in to the loss, pain and uncertainty that have shattered their lives, or will they find the tie that binds them all together through hope, trust, redemption and goodwill? - Middleton Christmas
2020 DLH Inspire Award Winner
In a small town, high-school dean Alana and her vivacious teenage daughter, Samantha, plan a holiday concert to save the school with the help of the new maintenance man, Army veteran Johnny, and his quiet son, Max. But when a car accident lands Sam in a life-threatening condition, Alana turns to Johnny for support, and Max makes a desperate decision that will forever bond their families together. All four must question their values about sacrifice, family and love—and what it means to be thankful for another Christmas. - The Power of Two – Documentary
2009 DLH Inspire Award Winner
A story of twin sisters, two cultures and two new chances at life. This documentary is inspired by their 2007 memoir, The Power of Two, and offers an intimate portrayal of the bond between half-Japanese twin sisters Anabel Stenzel and Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, their battle with the fatal genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF) and miraculous survival through double lung transplants. Defying all odds, Ana and Isa have emerged as authors, athletes and global advocates for organ donation, and their connection to the CF and transplant communities provides rare insight into the struggles—and overlooked joys—of chronic illness.