Obit.

Every morning, a small staff of obituary writers at The New York Times deposits the details of extraordinary lives into the cultural memory – each life’s story spun amid the daily beat of war, politics, and football scores. It’s amazing what goes on in the obits. At the NY Times, this often overlooked part of the daily newspaper is transformed into great journalism, full of humor and passion, offering a glimpse into the front lines of history, before the freshly inked pages have fully dried. Vanessa Gould’s unexpectedly fascinating “Obit” is the first documentary to look into the unknown world of editorial obituaries, going beyond the byline and into the minds of those chronicling life after death, while inviting some of the most essential questions we ask ourselves about life, memory and the inevitable passage of time. What are the things we choose to remember? What lingers on, refusing to die?