It speaks to the fundamental ways we speak to each other. When you watched him, you didn’t know what a Republican or Democrat was. Rogers was a unique cultural figure he has no cultural attachments. “A debate I’ve had with my documentary peers,” Neville said, “is who do we make films for? Do we make films to make each other feel good, pat each other on the back, preach to the converted, or argue with the converted? This was an opportunity to make a film to reach all kinds of people. Outside the U.S., in places that have never heard of Fred Rogers, they don’t get the immediate nostalgic hit - but the movie also works there, too. Neville has been trying to understand why this movie hits people so hard - and it’s not just the usual liberal arthouse crowd.Īt Sundance, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” was the opening night Salt Lake City Sundance premiere for a theater full of Republicans and Mormons, including the Governor of Utah and half his legislature. He’s been on the circuit since Sundance, getting feedback from audiences all over the world. Even Neville, who won the Oscar for “Twenty Feet from Stardom,” cried in the editing room as he listened to the final sound mix, he admitted at our recent Landmark Q&A.
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