Hi Stage 32 community!
There is an undeniable power in films based on true stories. For me, that power is personal. I am currently developing a project based on my own 30-plus-year journey living with a rare kidney disease, and I want to bring this world to the screen strictly through the patient's eyes.
Diagnosed at just 18 months old (a 1-in-50,000 rarity), my life has been a cycle of survival:
Spending years on PD dialysis as a toddler before my mum trained to do it all at home.
Receiving my first life-saving transplant at age 6 in 1993.
Defying high-risk medical odds to give birth to my daughter in 2007.
Facing organ failure in 2013, navigating in-centre haemodialysis, and surviving as a single mother.
Experiencing the ultimate emotional rollercoaster in December 2022—getting a false-alarm transplant call, followed by a successful match just two weeks later.
This isn't a sterile medical drama. It is a story about the raw human cost: the scars from endless surgeries (chest lines, groin lines, fistulas), relationship breakdowns, grief, and battling severe depression and panic attacks.
I’d love to open the floor to the community to see what your thoughts are on these types of narratives:
What is your favourite film based on a true story, and what made it feel authentic rather than Hollywood melodrama?
What draws you to a true medical or survival story?
Looking forward to connecting and hearing your insights!
For me, the strongest true-story films are the ones that focus on the person rather than the condition or event itself. Authenticity usually comes from the small, human moments and relationships rather than trying to make every scene dramatic. Your decision to tell this entirely from the patient’s perspective could make it especially powerful.
Yes sometimes if the focus is purely on the medical condition, it sometimes makes you lose interest.
My favourite all time true movie is 12 Years A Slave and At First Sight which is based on a true story. Both amazing watches. I've actually thought about this project for a long time. In the UK we have a soap called Coronation Street that did a story line on one of the residents who takes kidney failure but the way they show it, it's like the diagnosis, dialysis and transplant happen over night which made a lot of kidney patients angry plus the charity Kidney Care UK who wrote to the production company and complained. I've never actually saw a TV series or film that shows the raw side of being a kidney patient. I could also cut costs on this movie if I get yes to access a real hospital, with real patients, nurses, doctors, and equipment for the adult dialysis scenes.