CLOSING NIGHT FILM

For over 30 years, unassuming minister, puppeteer, writer, and producer Fred Rogers was beamed daily into homes across America. In his beloved television program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Fred and his cast of puppets and friends spoke directly to young children about some of life’s weightiest issues in a simple, direct fashion. There hadn’t been anything like Mr. Rogers on television before, and there hasn’t been since.

He may be best known today as a soft-spoken, cardigan-wearing children’s television host. But in reality, Fred Rogers’s career represents a commitment to presenting a coherent, beneficent view on how we should best speak to children about important matters—and how television could be used as a positive force in our society.

In WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, Academy Award–winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 FEET FROM STARDOM, IFFBoston 2013) looks back on the legacy of Fred Rogers, focusing on his radically kind ideas. While the nation changed around him, Fred stood firm in his beliefs about the importance of protecting childhood. Neville pays tribute to this message with the latest in his series of highly engaging, moving documentary portraits of essential American artists.