How Do You Measure a Year?

As "How Do You Measure a Year?" (2021 release; 29 min.) opens, director Jay Rosenblatt informs us that he filmed his daughter Ella on her birthday for 17 consecutive years, from ages 2 through 18, always asking the same questions, and that he had not looked at the footage in all those years. We then go to "TWO" as he asks seemingly very simple questions (but in fact are not simple at all) like "what is power?" and "what are dreams".

Couple of comments" when you watch someone grow up from age 2 to 18 in, literally, just half an hour, it is amazing to see the startling differences. And the shock when Ella, a child at 9, suddenly is a lot older and wiser just a year later. In the end, though, this is a love letter from a father to his daughter, and anyone who is a dad will likely think (as I surely did while watching this): "why didn't I do that with my daughter or my son?"

"How Do You Measure a Year?" was released in 2021 in various film festivals. For reasons unclear to me, this earned an Oscar nomination for Best Short Documentary in this year's Oscars (as opposed to last year's). It is currently streaming on Max, where I caught it last night. This documentary is short and sweet and moving. I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.