3 Documentaries to Watch to Remind You About Compassion, Connection and Purpose

Sometimes you read or watch something that touches you on such a human level, that you just have to share.

I had three of those experiences recently, and while I'm not a big fan of spoiler alerts, I'll do my best to briefly describe each documentary and tell you what you'll get from watching it. They are all available for streaming.

1) COMPASSION: "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (2018)

I remember a lot of talk about the Tom Hanks biopic "A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood" which came out in 2019, but I didn't hear much about the documentary. Things I learned about Mr. Rogers, he was a minister, he was a registered Republican and in some weird way he was the most unlikely hippie you ever could meet.

He believed that children should be seen, heard, valued and encouraged. His show was ground-breaking. He spoke to kids about things that were happening in the times: assassination, nuclear war, death and grief, divorce. He did so with compassion, gentleness and love.

It is an important reminder for everyone, but I think especially for those who work in media. We have a very powerful tool at our disposal, we should use it with compassion.

2) CONNECTION: "Dreams of a Life" (2012)

In the last few decades there are more ways to be connected than ever. However, that connection is an illusion. How much do we really know about our friends and neighbors? How often do we check in to see how people REALLY are doing? This documentary is about a 38 year old woman who "goes missing" in her own home and nobody notices for 3 years. It is a powerful reminder about connection, loss, loneliness and dreams.

3) PURPOSE: "Finding Vivian Meier" (2013)

It starts off simple enough, a young guy buys a box of undeveloped film at an auction. As he starts to scan and develop the photos he finds breath-taking work from a photographer no one has ever heard of. He digs deeper and finds more of her work. He discovers over 150,000 undeveloped rolls of film. Her name was Vivian, she worked as a nanny. She was known as eccentric, private, and even sometimes cruel. She lived humbly, but she was obsessed with capturing life on film. To what avail? Today it seems most people do things for recognition. This wasn't the case with Vivian. The film maker goes on a voyage to find out more about the elusive, reclusive woman behind the mind-blowing work. It made me question, does there need to be a purpose for our passion?

I would say grab the popcorn, but while you're at it, grab a box of tissues too. You will need them for all three. If you watch any of these, I'd love to hear if and how they moved you.