[1] Directed by Pete McCormack,[2] the film profiles the Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West in preparation for a 2015 concert at Massey Hall, as part of their farewell tour following lead singer John Mann's diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, interspersing the story of his diagnosis and the band's preparations for the concert with a portrait of their overall history.

[4] Other figures appearing in the film include Mann's wife Jill Daum, an actress and playwright who has written her own theatrical play about Alzheimer's, Forget About Tomorrow;[4] musician Paul Hyde, a longtime friend and early collaborator of the band, who both talks about his relationship with the band and performs a rendition of his song "I Miss My Mind the Most";[5] Mann and Daum's daughter Hattie Daumann; musician Craig Northey; the band's manager Janet Forsyth; former band member J. Knutson; and two of Mann's doctors.

McCormack, a longtime friend of the band, invested $100,000 of his own money in the film up front, telling The Globe and Mail that "I had to go and dive in right away … funding or no funding, because of the disease.

[7] Many critics have singled out the band's live performance of their signature song "Home for a Rest" near the end of the film, which saw the entire audience begin to sing along the moment Mann had a slip in remembering the lyrics, as its life-affirming emotional climax.

[9] At the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival in October 2016, Spirit Unforgettable won the award for Most Popular Canadian Documentary (based on audience balloting).