Nini Skye paints a moving portrait of a young girl in need of a life-saving organ, created to both raise awareness of living organ donation, and to inspire people to get involved. Rather than telling a “bleeding heart” story about a little girl who’s dying, it tells a “soaring heart” story of the life she wants to live, and appeals directly to the viewer to help. There are currently over 1,000 Montefiore Einstein patients seeking a living organ donor that could save their life. Nini Skye’s story in the film is an amalgamation of all patients.

Founded in 1884, Bronx-based hospital system Montefiore Einstein believes all human life is worth fighting for. Right now, over 1,000 of its patients are seeking the living organ donor that could save their life. Less than 20% of them will receive one. Our task was to bring awareness to the life-saving practice of living organ donation, bring attention to their patients and help find donors to save their patients’ lives.

The need for living organ donors is universal. There are over 100,000 patients on the waiting list for an organ in the US alone—8,000 people in the country die each year having never received one. But there’s an alternative: living organ donation. With a transfer from a healthy person to a patient in need, living organ donation can shorten the time it takes to receive a kidney or liver transplant—and the results can be truly lifesaving.

The intent was to share a young girl’s true essence with the world. To create a film that connects with each viewer emotionally. Only then would a direct appeal for something as important as an organ make an impact.

The story of Nini’s life is one about the people and places that mean the most to her. It’s the story of who and what she wants to live for. The director took a documentary approach, diving deep into existing photos and videos from her life up until now, both on her parent’s social accounts, and through direct communication with the family.

He got to know her. He got to know her family. He spent time with them, filming them in places significant to them, which were equally powerful in terms of imagery. The words are the words of the young girl herself, adding emotional weight and significance to the story.