I Made the Film I Couldn't Find
- Michelle Foye
- Aug 19
- 3 min read
Ten years ago I lost my firstborn son.
And then December came.
If you have ever grieved through a holiday season, you already know what I am about to say. The world does not slow down for you. The lights go up. The music starts. Everyone asks what you are doing for Christmas, and you learn to give the short answer because the real one makes people uncomfortable.
I went looking for a story that reflected what that actually felt like. A film. A show. Anything. I could not find one.
So I made it.
Christmas Between
Christmas Between is a short film about a grieving mother named Maya Varner, who discovers that loss does not have to end legacy, when a Christmas miracle leads her family toward forgiveness, healing, love and light in a way they never have before.
It is ten minutes long. It will stay with you longer than that.
The film is inspired by a true story. Mine. But I did not make it to tell my story. I made it for the family that sets one less place at the table this year and says nothing about it. For the woman who is high-functioning and still not okay. For anyone who has been told to move on by people who have never had to.
Here is what I have learned in ten years, and it is the whole heart of this film:
Grief does not disrupt legacy. It becomes it.
What Happened on Martha's Vineyard
On August 11, Christmas Between had its world premiere at the historic Strand Theater in Oak Bluffs, during festival week on Martha's Vineyard.
We did not do it quietly. The premiere was paired with the Legacy of Wealth Forum, where leaders from business, media, faith and culture spent an afternoon on the three kinds of wealth we do not talk about together often enough: emotional, cultural and financial.
More than a hundred guests registered. The Atlanta Voice covered it. And the thing I keep returning to is not the turnout or the press. It is the room.
People cried. Then people stayed. They stood in the lobby long after the credits and told each other about who they had lost.
That is what I built this for. Not applause. Permission.
Now You Can Watch It at Home
The premiere was never meant to be the finish line.
Christmas Between is now available to stream at christmasbetween.com. No theater, no showtime, no RSVP required.
Instant access to the full film
One purchase covers your entire household
Watch on any device, any screen
Eleven minutes to watch. A whole evening's worth to talk about after.
Here is what I would ask you to do with it. Do not watch it alone on your phone at midnight. Pick a night. Gather your people. Press play. And then stay in the room for the conversation that follows, because that conversation is the actual point.
If someone in your circle is carrying a loss quietly, send it to them. That is how this story travels.
What Comes Next
We are moving into casting for the feature film.
Nearly $40,000 has already gone into development, marketing and bringing this project to Martha's Vineyard. What began as one mother's story is becoming something larger. A body of work for people navigating grief, and a business case for stories the industry has been avoiding.
If you want to understand what has been built and where it is going, that conversation is open. Reach out through christmasbetween.com.
One Last Thing
I want to say this plainly, because someone reading needs it.
You do not have to be finished healing to start building. I was not. I am still not.
I built this from exactly where I was. In the middle of it, on the days it was heavy, in a season that has never gotten easier. That is the only place any of us ever get to build from.
Whatever you have been waiting to start until the grief lifts, or the year turns, or you feel ready: start it from where you are.
That is what loss becoming legacy actually looks like.
Watch Christmas Between → christmasbetween.com
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