Honouring life, love and the losses that shape us..
Through documentary storytelling, personal experience and conversations with people living with profound change, GIDII’s work has evolved towards grief and loss across a lifetime.
Our memorials, education and films make room for the whole human experience—love, sorrow, humour and joy. We explore how people find meaning, carry memories and discover their own ways of healing and living alongside loss.
Every Life Has A Story
Memorials and celebrations of life should reflect the person being remembered—their relationships, character, beliefs and the everyday moments that made them who they were.
Loss Deserves Recognition
Grief can accompany death and many other changes in life. People deserve space to acknowledge what they have lost, without having to justify their experience.
Listening Builds Connection
We do not always need the right words. Being willing to listen, remain present and make room for another person’s experience is something we can all offer.
Understanding Can Grow
Through education, conversation and film, we can become more confident talking about loss and responding with compassion.
Our Approach
We begin by listening—to the person, the family, the story and the circumstances.
Our work draws on:
• Careful listening
• Respect for individual beliefs and wishes
• Clear, accessible language
• Research and evidence
• Lived experience and storytelling
• Thoughtful opportunities for reflection
People bring different beliefs, cultural traditions and personal meanings to life and loss. We welcome people of every faith and no faith, without assuming what gives someone comfort or a sense of connection.
Founder — Kathie Melocco
Kathie Melocco is the founder of GIDII. Her work brings together memorial services and celebrations of life, grief and loss education, and documentary filmmaking exploring care, loss and social issues. Trained as an interfaith chaplain and end-of-life doula, Kathie draws on these foundations to listen carefully, respect individual beliefs and help families honour a life in ways that feel personal and true to them.
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Her commitment to understanding grief is also personal. Following her mother’s death, Kathie and her family made a short film, Lona, in her honour. That experience led Kathie to train as an end-of-life doula and deepen her exploration of how we accompany people through dying, loss and the life that follows.
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Through education and writing, Kathie encourages a broader understanding of grief—including the losses that accompany illness, changes in work and relationships, and an altered sense of identity or future. Her aim is to help us talk about these experiences more openly and support one another with greater understanding.
Kathie directed and produced Shattered, a four-part documentary series exploring what happens after workplace injury changes a life. Her next documentary, Call the Doula, is in development and explores end-of-life accompaniment and the experiences of those who remain.
Across these different forms of work is a shared commitment: honouring people’s stories and helping us understand how we care for one another.