A Life in Tandem Documentary - Post Production

Aim

Help us finish our feature documentary to show the world what's possible with cancer.

“This film is more than a documentary, it leads a global movement to dispel the fear and paralysis around cancer. Luke’s CanLive choices offer an inspiring alternative for those people who want to live a full life and achieve their dreams. This story must be told.”

Ellen Windemuth, Oscar and BAFTA winner for My Octopus Teacher.

Mike (Director) and I (Luke, Producer) have spent the last three years cycling, filming and editing to make this film. We have taken it so far by our own hard work and from over 120 hours of footage we now have a 90 minute rough cut. But in order to spread the message of the film to as many people as possible, we need to get the film completed to broadcast quality.

For this, we need your help.

My Story

In 2018, at the age of 24, I was diagnosed with incurable stage 4 cancer. Thirteen cancerous nodules had already spread to my lungs.

If I was lucky, I had months.

I was distraught and desperate. I would do anything to live.

So I decided to do everything I could to be one of the people who survived.

I walked, ran and cycled my way through treatment.

To everyone’s surprise, at the end of treatment I was still alive.

I then decided to set out on my dream of cycling from Bristol to Beijing and show the world what is possible with cancer.

I chose to cycle it on a tandem so I could share the journey with my brother, John.

But before we set off the most horrible thing happened.

John fell to his death in the Lake District.

I decided that if I couldn’t share the ride with John then I would share it with the world.

I set off from Bristol on 1st January 2020.

What followed was the most extraordinary adventure.

I never achieved my dream of getting to Beijing but I found something else.

What’s the film about?

Mike: “This is the story of how the human spirit can triumph even in the face of grief and how a mother and son rebuild a relationship in the new landscape of a family that has been torn apart. It’s also a rollicking adventure that sees Luke make friends with a vigilante pastor in Ukraine, adopt an abandoned puppy in Uzbekistan and cycle across India with a schoolboy CanLiver, Dev. Oh, and his brakes stopped working on a mountain descent…

Along the way, we see this incredible relationship develop between Luke and his Mum, Jenny. She’s been through so much, yet she comes out and joins Luke in Switzerland, Georgia and India. Their relationship isn’t always smooth but it comes out stronger after all the challenges.

Luke cycles all the way to China only to find that there’s no way to get in. What does he do? Is the point of the ride over? 

We watch him change the final section of the ride and is joined by hundreds and raises thousands for cancer charities. Four years on from his diagnosis, Luke’s journey of discovery of what’s important in his life reaches its stunning conclusion at the finish line where it all began, in the arms of his mum.”

Mission

This is an incredible story, which we want to tell to radically change the way we think about cancer.

This film will spread the Can Live message.

Simply, you can live with cancer.

You can do things to help yourself.

You can live a rich and fulfilling life, even with cancer.

Very often, when people are diagnosed with cancer, it can feel there’s nothing you can do. You’re powerless. A patient, in the hands of doctors.

But to be a CanLiver is to empower yourself. You can help yourself through physical activity and diet. You can do things to improve your odds. And ultimately, we always have a choice about our attitude towards how we spend our time.

This is a film that will inspire, entertain and empower. Join us on this journey.

Why we need your help

This is a story that has already reached thousands of people through the BBC and international media and raised over £130,000 for cancer charities. Mike and I now want it to reach millions more.  

That’s why we need you to be part of this.

We have taken as far as we can but there’s a lot more to do to bring this to a standard we can show on the silver screen.

You will be supporting:

• The edit
• Sound and music
• Final interviews and pick ups
• Animation
• News footage
• Subtitles
• Legal counsel
• Film screening and distribution

Creative Team:

Mike Rumsey - Director

Mike is a documentary filmmaker with a passion for showcasing inspiring and empowering stories about the strength of the human spirit to overcome the largest challenges. From climate change to cancer, it’s incredible what humans are capable of. 

Learning his trade as a corporate  filmmaker, Mike carved out a space in the documentary and sports worlds. His work has been seen by millions as featured in BBC’s flagship sports programme, Sports Personality of the Year.  

Luke Grenfell-Shaw - Producer

I fell into the role of Producer by accident. I never expected to be making films. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I googled “stage 4 cancer survivors” and I couldn’t find anyone who’d been diagnosed with an incurable cancer and who had gone on to live. This was heart-breaking. I realised I would have to tell my own story to inspire myself and other people. I then set about making it happen. 

I’ve taught myself everything. But in fact, I have found making a film has many similarities to organising an expedition: with enough willpower, creativity,  attention to detail and building the best team, anything is possible. 

Ellen Windemuth - Executive Producer 

Ellen Windemuth is the Oscar-winning Executive Producer of BAFTA and Oscar winning My Octopus Teacher (2020), the founder and board chair of Waterbear Network. Prior to founding WaterBear, Ellen was founder and CEO of Off the Fence, a global nonfiction production and distribution company based in Amsterdam.  Under her leadership Off the Fence acquired, produced, and co-produced over 6,000 hours of content.

 Ellen is a seasoned Executive Producer, Impact Producer and Distributor and has produced over 500 hours to date. She was the Chairperson of the Jackson Hole Film Festival Board. Her experience in factual programming and feature documentaries is extensive in both production and distribution. Ellen was recently presented with Wildscreen’s Christopher Parson’s Outstanding Achievement Awards 2018. 

Hilary Andersson - Advisor

Hilary Andersson was producer for the highly acclaimed Mariupol: The People’s Story (2022) and has been a correspondent for the BBC’s Panorama since 2006. Andersson has won the Royal Television Society (RTS) News Event award, the Peabody Award, the Banff best documentary award, and the One World Media award. For her and her team's work for uncovering the first evidence that China had been helping Sudan's government militarily in Darfur, where the United Nations estimates that about 300,000 people died, she won the Amnesty International Television Documentary for her Panorama documentary "The New Killing Fields".

Thank you for your interest in A Life in Tandem and please donate to make this film a reality!

We are so grateful to you for all your support - thank you so much. 

This project successfully funded on 28th May 2023