The Long Goodbye: The Kara Tippetts Story

Jay and Sophia Lyons take up God’s call to spend time with and document the life of Kara Tippetts. As she did with everyone, Kara invites them in as she goes through the phases of terminal breast cancer with love and grace all the while embracing her ever present Lord. Her story effected tens of thousands around the globe and Jay and Sofia tell us more about what Kara meant to them and to others. 

Website: http://karatippettsdocumentary.com/

Trailer: https://youtu.be/ToS3zVdZlqQ

Sofia and Jay Lions

Filmmakers Jay and Sofia Lyons, a husband and wife team, have been impacting the world as artists, both musically and visually, for over two and a half decades. The couple met at Nashville’s Belmont University, and soon after began a career as Christian worship artists –   writing songs, recording, and performing in 40+ states to hundreds of thousands even before signing a record deal with the famed WORD/EPIC Records.

After 10 years on the road and with their daughter starting kindergarten, Jay and Sofia moved to New York City, where Sofia was born and raised. While in NYC, Jay (a licensed and ordained minister) served in lower Manhattan as Creative Arts Pastor at a church plant that started shortly after the 9-11 tragedy and met just one block from the World Trade Center site.  Sofia says, “9-11 was our daughter’s 2nd day of kindergarten in Manhattan. We knew we had to do something, anything, to help others during this time.”

While in NYC Sofia started to land TV placements for her original music, including theme songs on MTV shows and numerous placements for hit shows including Gossip Girl, The New Girl, The Secret Life of The American Teenager, One Tree Hill, Up All Night, and Fresh Off the Boat.

During this same time, as a natural growth from Sofia’s music placements, Jay became heavily involved in TV and film production. In 2011 the couple decided to move to LA, which has allowed Jay to produce hundreds of hours of TV for networks including MTV, TLC, NBC, CBS, and Discovery Channel. Sofia has also helped mentor young artists and actors as a vocal coach to the Stars in Burbank CA. Her clients have been featured in Glee, Hidden Figures, and numerous Disney and Nickelodeon shows. She loves sharing her experience as a worship leader and pop singer to mentor young talent.

Drawing from their experience from full-time ministry AND working in the entertainment industry, Jay and Sofia felt a calling to create uplifting, faith-based content. This led to the formation of Jay Lyons Productions, a TV and film production company. Recent highlights include a reality show featuring David & Tamela Mann, where Jay produced a TV episode of Tamela singing How Great is Our God with Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin at the Grammy’s. Jay also produced a short film partnering Prison Fellowship with famed street basketball player “The Professor.” This short documentary currently has 27 million views on YouTube. Other clients include TLC, Spotify, Lifeway Bibles, WORD Music Publishing, and of course THE LONG GOODBYE: The Kara Tippetts Story, which features Ann Voskamp, Joanna Gaines, and Joni Eareckson Tada.