If you’re like me, you were absolutely stunned to discover that Andy Whitfield, the 39-year-old star of the hit Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, had lost his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Obviously any type of cancer is a very serious thing, but all hopes were that Whitfield would find a way to beat the disease.

What we didn’t know, however, is that Whitfield’s battle was being documented by Lilibet Foster (Academy Award nominee for 1999’s Speaking in Strings) in hopes of creating something special to inspire people who are in similar fights to the one Andy faced, and everyone else to get out there and live life to the fullest every single day.

The title of the documentary is Be Here Now, and you learn more about it and watch a trailer below.

“Be Here Now” are the words Whitfield and his wife Vashti Whitfield both got tattooed on themselves as a promise to do whatever it took to find a cure after being told their very best option only gave Andy a 25% chance of survival. The documentary follows them as they search the world for medical options and alternative remedies in places like Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Although the movie is about Andy’s fight with cancer overall, it’s really the story of his life, and it evolves into a story about he and his family as they all go through this devastating time together while trying to stay positive. And, ultimately, it’s about living fearlessly so that if your day comes sooner than expected, you can leave with no regrets.

I’m not going to lie, as a fan of Andy’s it was really difficult to make it through the preview below alone. I can only imagine how hard it will be to watch the final film. And I can’t at all imagine what it was like for he and his family to live it. Still, the overall message makes this an easy project to get behind, so be sure to check it out.

You can head over to the project’s Kickstarter page if you’d like to donate. It has already reached its goal, unsurprisingly, but that doesn’t mean they can’t use as much as they can get. Any money raised is going to any additional filming needed to complete the movie, as well as post-production costs.

Preview