Experiencing Interruptions?

Riding Home

Most of us treat death like a secret we aren’t supposed to tell. Caryl is done keeping secrets.

Through intimate cinéma vérité storytelling, the film seeks not only to document one woman’s final journey, but to contribute to a broader cultural shift: toward facing death with presence, courage, and collective care.

As a Vermont horse trainer living on borrowed time, Caryl isn't just preparing to die— she’s teaching everyone around her how to survive it. Riding Home strips away the sterile, clinical curtains of the American "end of life" experience. By inviting her friends and family into the uncomfortable, messy, and beautiful reality of her final months and days, Caryl proves that the most healing thing we can do is talk about the one thing we’re all afraid to mention.

  • Elyse Neiman Seiter
    Director
    MTV News & Doc shows, other unscripted TV shows (for the last 20 years)
  • Cynthia Wade
    Producer
    Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including Shelter Dogs in 2003 about animal welfare and Freeheld in 2007 about LGBT rights as well as television commercials and web campaigns. She has won over 40 film festival awards, won an Oscar in 2008, and was nominated for her second Oscar in 2013.
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 6, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    470,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Elyse Neiman Seiter

Elyse Neiman Seiter is an Emmy Award–winning television producer, director, and filmmaker with over two decades of experience in nonfiction television and documentary storytelling. She has worked across every stage of production— from casting and shooting to producing, supervising, executive producing, and post-production— collaborating with networks including MTV, TLC, HGTV, Travel Channel, NYC Media, and Food Network. Through her company, Mindful Films, Elyse focuses on telling intimate stories about illness, healing, and end-of-life, with the goal of helping audiences reflect on the fragility and preciousness of life. In 2023, she completed a year-long training program, Foundations in Contemplative Care, at the New York Zen Center, where she studied how to bear witness and hold space for people nearing the end of life. She later trained as an end-of-life doula in 2025. Elyse is deeply interested in the intersection of storytelling, healing, and mortality, and hopes to help pioneer the use of film as a form of narrative medicine.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Riding Home is a feature documentary that explores what happens when one person facing terminal illness chooses radical honesty about death. In a culture where conversations about dying are often avoided or hidden away, the film invites viewers into the emotional reality of Caryl’s final months, and into the lives of the people who love her as they learn how to face loss together. By documenting these intimate moments, the film aims to open space for more honest conversations about mortality, caregiving, grief, and the shared human experience of letting go.

As the filmmaker, I am uniquely positioned to tell Caryl’s story with sensitivity, trust, and a strong cinematic eye. I am an Emmy Award–winning television director and producer with over twenty years of experience in nonfiction storytelling, and a former camera operator with a deep love for visual composition. I am also a cancer survivor, an experience that profoundly shifted my relationship to time, illness, and what it means to truly “wake up” to life. My long-standing interest in end-of-life care led me to complete a year-long training program at the New York Zen Center and to train as an end-of-life doula. My close relationship with Caryl and her family, combined with this personal and professional background, allowed me to document her final chapter with rare intimacy— capturing not only her journey, but the ways her honesty transforms the people around her.