Leonardo DiCaprio's Death Boom Documentary is Surprisingly Uplifting (Watch Trailer)

Death Boom, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Jessica Chandler, premieres at the Tribeca Festival on June 9, 2026. With filmmaker Eli Roth serving as narrator, the documentary examines the death care industry and explores what the filmmakers describe as an urgent, coming challenge: the passing of over a million Baby Boomers over the next 15 years.

The film aims to pull back the curtain on traditional disposition methods, embalming, cremation, conventional burial, and, according to its producers, investigate the barriers that have prevented greener alternatives from becoming widely available. 

And despite the heavy subject matter, the filmmakers promise it will be, in their own words, "surprisingly uplifting."

The Alternative the Film Points To

Death Boom makes an urgent case: over the next 15 years, more than a million Baby Boomers are expected to die. According to the filmmakers, the industry is not prepared for that scale, and the environmental toll of current methods is significant. The film also explores what has blocked greener alternatives from becoming widely legal and accessible.

But the filmmakers don't stop at the problem. Better options, they argue, already exist.

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A Natural Alternative Already Available

One of the documentary's central arguments is that better options already exist. We'd like to think soil transformation is one of them.

At Earth Funeral, we specialize in natural organic reduction, also known as soil transformation, terramation, or human composting. Over 30-45 days, the body is gently transformed into nutrient-rich soil using renewable energy, minimal water, and principles of nature. Families can keep a portion of the soil for planting, spreading, or sharing to create living memorials, while the remainder is donated to conservation projects that restore and regenerate natural landscapes.

It's a process rooted in science, guided by decades of funeral experience, and designed to offer families a meaningful, ecological alternative at end of life.

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Why This Week Matters

When a film with Leonardo DiCaprio's name attached premieres at Tribeca, it moves culture. Conversations that have lived at the edges of mainstream awareness, about what we do with our bodies, about the environmental footprint of death, about who gets to make those choices, are about to get a much larger audience.

We welcome that conversation. 

Soil transformation is legal in a growing number of states, and Earth Funeral operates fully licensed, state-of-the-art facilities where it's available, including the recent opening of the largest soil transformation center in the world. 

We offer comprehensive services including transportation, care, documentation, the transformation process, and respectful return of soil to families, all managed in our online Family portal.

Watch The Trailer

If Death Boom resonates with you, we'd love to show you what's possible. Learn more about soil transformation at earthfuneral.com.