Have you ever wondered about life after death?
Well, so has Stephen Gray, and he’s done the digging and heard the stories to unravel what it’s all about.
Gray, a Winnipeg-based filmmaker born and raised in Stonewall, has spent the last six years, starting mid-2016, exploring the big question: ‘What happens when we die?’
His gripping feature film, After Death, explores what happens after we die, based on real near-death experiences told by scientists, authors, and survivors.
“There is a very personal connection because I was asking that question, ‘Is there something after,’ and asking that honestly and open-handedly… For me, it’s had a profound impact; it’s given me a faith that I believe there is something after,” said Gray.
After Death was released in theatres on Oct. 27 across Canada and the United States, it had a top 10 all-time opening weekend, reached third in the box office behind movies from Martin Scorsese and Taylor Swift, and became a top three all-time documentary release.
The film was born out of personal loss, said Gray.
In 2012, Gray’s brother-in-law was killed in a drunk driving accident.
“He was 36 years old. Here, one moment and gone the next. Personally, that just caused me to ask questions about, ‘Is there something after or not,’” said Gray.
From there, Gray came across books that told the stories of people who came across near-death experiences, which means they clinically died for a period of time, had some experience or memory, and then came back, which is pretty rare.
Gray’s first feature-length film comes from the New York Times bestselling authors that brought titles like 90 Minutes in Heaven, Imagine Heaven, and To Heaven and Back but goes beyond, examining the spiritual and scientific dimensions of mortality, leaving viewers wondering: Is there life after death?
“I was so hooked on the topic. I found it really helpful for me in the grieving process, and I wasn’t really seeing anything out there that covered it on this bigger scale going through multiple stories,” he said.
After researching for some time, Gray connected with many authors from these books, including John Burke, who wrote Imagine Heaven. Burke has been exploring near-death experiences and studying them for 30 years and has compared over 1,000 different cases from people around the world who have clinically died and come back.
From that initial point of contact, Gray said it all snowballed from there.
The feature film now includes five New York Times bestselling authors, and they interviewed 14 people from around the world who clinically died between seconds to an hour and 45 minutes and came back.
Since its initial release, where it scored off the charts, it has continued to build momentum, becoming the top-grossing documentary since 2019, receiving an A-cinema score, and was named the top three all-time documentary release (on 2,745 screens).
After Death has been covered by CBC Radio Ones, CNN, Newsweek, Deadline, Variety, Washington Examiner, Fox News, ABC News, AOL, Decider, Box Office Pro, Movie Guide, Business Times, and Herald Review, among many others.
“Growing up in Stonewall, I never really dreamed of doing film; it was kind of just not on the horizon. I didn’t think it was too realistic, and I didn’t think I was really cut out for it. When I was 23, going to Red River, I was kind of introduced to that world for the first time. I think it was when I started editing my first commercial project that’s where I just all of a sudden realized what video can do. It’s this medium that can kind of move people,” said Gray.
Gray’s path to filmmaking wasn’t always a clear, straight line. But, in the end, he decided to go to Red River College Polytechnic to take the digital media design program, bridging graphic design with creative communications, from web design to video production and 3D animation.
“Doing video really struck a chord with me – I thought it was interesting,” he said.
From there, he went on to work for an agency in Winnipeg before starting his own production company, so most of his film production work in Winnipeg has been done in the commercial space.
His previous work includes award-winning short films and commercials, partnering with brands like Target, Leisure Travel Vans, Google, and Pepsi, and being featured by AdWeek, Webby Awards, Forbes, MSN, Fubiz and Product Hunt.
After Death is still playing in theatres across Canada and the United States. Scotiabank Theatre Winnipeg on St. James St. is showing the film this week.
“We’re hoping this film is a journey for people that are both on the side of faith and the side of skeptics; it kind of has both in the film,” said Gray.
But what’s next for the hometown multidisciplinary filmmaker?
Gray has a true-crime feature documentary that’s in post-production through Amazon Studios and is hopefully coming out in the next year or so on Amazon Prime.
Due to the overwhelming response from After Death, Gray says they are looking at turning it into a television series.
