Iain was born to race. A cycle champion by age 14, he moved on to speedway and joined Linlithgow Lighting, winning medals and trophies. When his legs started to fail, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He tried to fight it, every day, until he realized he was making it worse. Friends disappeared. His wife, Moyra remained a constant, and glamorous, support. Iain struggled with increasing daily pain for eight years before the hospice helped him discover effective pain relief.

Here's a clip with Iain from Seven Songs for a Long Life:

Dorene went into the hospice in such pain that the nurses could not touch her. Intensive specialist care and a cocktail of pain relief allowed her to return home. Although she had given up singing after her diagnosis of bone cancer, she could not resist once she met Mandy. A previous star of amateur operatics, she sings her favourite song during a physiotherapy session. She goes on to sing some of the most beautiful moments in the film.

Here's a clip with Dorene from Seven Songs for a Long Life:

Tosh doesn’t believe in talking about death. He doesn’t believe in filling in forms, even if it will net him an extra £100 per week under the ‘special conditions’ of having less than six months to live. Tosh believes in singing. He charms the social worker, serenades the hairdresser, and persuades 94-year-old Betty to duet with him. “That’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he says, “a medal for singing, when I was 13.”

Here's a clip with Tosh from Seven Songs for a Long Life:

The documentary film Seven Songs for a Long Life is due to be screened across the UK during Hospice Care Week (5 to 11 October 2015). ehospice caught up with the team behind the film to find out more.

In Seven Songs for a Long Life, filmed at Strathcarron Hospice over a number of years, we see six patients, a nurse and a fundraiser deal with terminal illness with humour and a passion for music.

We spoke to Amy Hardie, film director, Sonja Henrici, film producer, Irene McKie, director of Strathcarron Hospice, and Erna Haraldsdottir, former head of education at Strathcarron, about the film.

While listening to and thinking about the main characters in the film Seven Songs for a Long Life, the question that came to my mind was: “What is the difference between them and me?”

Seven Songs for a Long Life will see its long-anticipated world premiere at the MacRobert in Stirling on 2 October, kicking off the UK-wide Hospice Care Week.

More than 50 screenings have already been confirmed. Have a look here.