From Academy Award – winning filmmaker Morgan Neville and producer Nicholas Ma — the same creative team behind Leap of Faith — Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes an intimate look at America’s most beloved neighbor: Fred Rogers. Through archival footage, interviews, and behind – the – scenes moments, the film explores Rogers’ radically kind ideas and uncompromising vision for public television. More than a portrait of a man, it is a reflection on empathy, community, and the enduring impact of listening to and valuing every person. The documentary invites audiences to consider how small acts of kindness can build bridges across our deepest divides. The event is Thursday, August 20, 2026.
This is the final program in the series Beyond the Divide, presented by Millions of Conversations and hosted by Nashville Public Library, and co- hosted by the Metro Human Relations Commission. Beyond the Divide is an eight – part series presented by Millions of Conversations (MoC) that brings together Nashville to build trust, share meaningful conversations, and unite around common values for a shared future. Through film screenings and community panel discussions, the series is designed as an experience bringing together Middle Tennesseans to engage in deep, intentional conversations that reinforce that there is more that unites us in communities across the U.S. than divides us.
The doors to the event room open at 5:30 pm, and the program begins at 6:00 pm for an intimate look at America’s most beloved neighbor: Fred Rogers. The Film has a running time of one hour, 34 minutes. It will be followed by guided table conversations led by trained MoC facilitators after screening. The Film Director and Producer will be in attendance. The Bordeaux Branch Library is located at 4000 Senator Thelma Harper Parkway, or 4000 Clarksville Highway, Nashville TN 37218.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a 2018 American documentary film about the life and guiding philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host and creator of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, directed by Morgan Neville. The trailer for the film debuted on what would have been Rogers’ 90th birthday, March 20, 2018. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. It had a limited release in US theaters on June 8, 2018. PBS aired the film on February 9, 2019, as part of the network’s Independent Lens series. It received acclaim from critics and audiences and grossed over $22 million, becoming the top-grossing biographical documentary ever produced and the 12th largest-grossing documentary ever produced. It was nominated for numerous awards, won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature, and was chosen by Time magazine as one of its Top Ten Films of 2018.
One of the film’s producers was Nicholas Ma, son of the famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. As a child, the younger Ma appeared twice as himself in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children’s television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In November 2018, director Morgan Neville revealed that the original title of the film was The Radical Mister Rogers, but after the election of Donald Trump, the term “radical” had a negative connotation according to Neville.
The film features appearances by Joanne Rogers (Fred’s widow), John Rogers (Fred’s son), Jim Rogers (Fred’s son), Elaine Rogers Crozier (Fred’s sister), Margy Whitmer (Fred’s producer from 1979 onward), Hedda Sharapan, François Scarborough Clemmons, Tom Junod, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Negri, David Newell (Mr. McFeely), Howard and Pam Erlanger (parents of Jeff Erlanger), Jeff Erlanger in archival recordings, Fred Rogers in archival recordings, Koko in archival recordings, and Hilary Hahn.
