The life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host, Fred Rogers is explored in Director Morgan Neville’s new documentary feature, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
In the film, Neville pays tribute to the man who was welcomed daily into homes across America via his beloved program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Focusing on Rogers’ radically kind ideas and his beliefs about the importance of protecting childhood, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? reveals that he was much more than a soft-spoken, cardigan-wearing children's television program host, but rather a pioneer in how we should best speak to young children about important matters and how television could be used as a positive force in our society.
Following the DGA Eastern Region Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in New York on June 8, Neville discussed the making of the film in a conversation moderated by Director Liz Garbus (A Dangerous Son).
Neville’s other works include the documentary features Keith Richards: Under the Influence, The Music of Strangers, Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal, Sidney Poitier: The Defiant One, The Hustons: Hollywood's Maverick Dynasty, Ray Charles: The Last Blues Man, Johnny Cash’s America, and Troubadours; and episodes of the television series Ugly Delicious, Abstract: The Art of Design, Biography, Independent Lens, Great Performances, and American Masters. His 2014 film 20 Feet from Stardom won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, Features.
Neville has been a DGA member since 2003.