Meet Cory Bretz, personal historian
A Video and Print Storyteller
Trained as an end of life doula and a spiritual coach, Cory brings deep compassion, an authentic heart, and a bold curiosity to helping each person tell their story. Knowing that there are no guarantees in life means that Cory supports each person he works with to bring forward their best, in this moment, without judgement.
Cory Bretz is a video and print storyteller helping families and organizations tell their own story. He specializes in personal interviewing, digital conversion of photos and films, and creating modern media that moves hearts anywhere anytime.
In family history circles, professionals who work with families to help them build their family legacies are variously known as "personal historians" or "family historians". Often the terms are used interchangeably.
Cory Bretz is one of those history-lovers, having helped dozens of families and seniors ensure their success as their family's Legacy Builder, preserving and celebrating their own life stories and that of their ancestors.
Cory brings to the field of recording family history skills like genealogy, interviewing, writing, video editing, film production and publishing. Cory has three decades of practice doing photo scanning & restoration, filming over 100 weddings, video editing, interviewing, writing memoirs, making tributes, and consciously choosing to become a skilled family historian. He's most happiest when he's interviewing somebody and digitizing their old photos and mementos for a life story movie, film history film, or legacy book.
A Video and Print Storyteller
Cory thinks in pictures. And's he also a fabulous listener. These two qualities combined give Cory Bretz the ability to help you tell your life story and family history in an interesting, compelling way. As a veteran of the fast paced and demanding marketing communications field Cory understands how to gather and organize the countless details that make up a rich life story and family history. Being a natural storyteller, he easily summarizes and illustrates your life story so your audience - today and tomorrow - will want to watch your film or read your book.
We hired Cory to document our 90 year old mother's life history. Cory was able to make a legacy video that taught us details of our mother's life we did not know. The movie was engaging, informative, creative, and visually interesting to watch. If the saying is you get what you pay for, we think we exceeded that maxim.
Jeffrey Goldberg
Film Client
A Mission To Inspire The Next Generation
Years ago, Cory witnessed the power that video has to bring people in touch with their emotions and to transmit human values, traditions, and identity. With the huge growth of internet video sites like Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram Cory knows that our society is rapidly arriving at a place where if you're not in video on the web somewhere, perhaps you don't exist!
It was at a workshop in 1995 that the presenter said it is the job of our society's elders - grandmothers and grandfathers - to bless our children. But with all the distractions of daily life and the way families are spread all over the globe, Cory knew that something was missing.
One of the most satisfying components of that family films and books that Cory makes is knowing that they contain the seeds of human greatness. Each element of a Family Legacy is like a storage vessel for the unique energies of ancestors who endured horrific situations but relied on their innate talents, values, philosophies, faith, and strengths to survive and thrive. The satisfaction is in knowing that the next generation now being born has a legacy to inspire them as they face their own challenges.
What I Love Most About You Is...
Almost by accident, Cory discovered "blessings", often the sweetest part of a life story movie or family history film. He had just finished interviewing a senior about her life story when she said, "I really want my grandchildren to know how I feel about them." So, he turned the camera back on and had her speak to each of her grandchildren one by one - eyeball to camera lens - telling each one she loved them and what she thought was special about each one.
"We were both had tears of joy running down our faces when we finished but we knew we had just recorded something that was going to be very significant to those people", said Cory.
Blessings are much like a living will video but they contain mostly well wishes and positive messages intended to inspire the next generation.
Family Documentary Filmmaker
Cory is a hands-on writer and video biographer. For some film projects he researches diligently and writes a detailed script in advance, determining what the story is and interviewing people with very focused questions. Other productions require a more open-ended journalistic documentary approach, interviewing all the players without a script and then deciding later what the story really is. Either way, the fundamental question that inform Cory's making of life story movies and family history films and legacy books is: "What will inspire the next generation?"
Legacy Book Publisher
Cory also applies his years of print publishing experience from designing and laying out magazines, newsletters, and advertising materials to the art of storybook making. He is able to pull together interview text and scanned and photographed imagery into a rich print, bound book that your family will cherish forever. These books contain story text, family photos, genealogical charts, contextual historical information, recipes and important family traditions and customs.
His books are designed to make perfect bedtime story books for parents and grand parents to read to the young children in their family.
Cory's main focus is the needs of his customers and he makes sure that your video production or storybook is crafted the right way.
Arrange a free 30 minute consultation with Personal Historian Cory Bretz.
SOCIAL
Copyright 2026 Heirloom Films and Storybooks, all rights reserved.