The Power of Documentary Film

"Regardless of whether a documentary is better served by a for-profit or not-for-profit company, almost everyone agrees that the best thing a film can do for a cause is to tell a great story."

I would like to spend some time talking about the reading on documentary films. There are two documentaries that come to mind after reading this quote. My favorite two documentaries are The Drop Box and Twinsters. These two films are a great example of powerful documentaries. Each tells a truly great story that really touched and inspired me.

The Drop Box tells the story of a South Korean pastor who opened his home to abandoned children. After seeing many children die from being abandoned, the man was inspired to start a "drop box", an incubated box that mothers can leave their babies in while maintaining anonymity. Due to many pressures and issues with money, many mothers chose to abandon their babies. All of these children are taken care of by the pastor with the help of family and friends, and nearly all of them have some sort of health issues or mental handicap. The documentary is inspiring and heartwarming.

Twinsters tells the story of Samantha Futerman, an actress (Memoirs of a Geisha's Satsu is what I knew her from) who is contacted via Twitter by a boy saying that his friend looks just like her. She manages to find this friend, Anais Bordier, via Facebook and discovers that they look identical, are both adopted, and share the same birthday. Both were adopted from South Korea, though Sam grew up in the United States whereas Anais grew up in France and now resides in London. The two stay in contact with each other until they are finally able to meet. A DNA test reveals that, of course, they are identical twins. The documentary was created and directed by Samantha Futerman, herself, and is a very heartwarming film.