For me, the key to Vivian Maier’s story is not her posthumous success. Her visual work is there for us to see and to remind ourselves of what we care about. Concluding this, I care to give a shout-out to the many people whose talents remain locked and whose works, professional or not, remain unseen.

Vivian Maier never had the chance to interact with her (potential) public, so her story is a sad one, regardless of her late recognition we are witnessing. For us, though, now is the time to publish our doings and to interact with whoever might be interested in what we do and what we like. Our lifetime is the precious moment to enjoy our own creativity. And we rarely live up to the potential of our own skills. I often notice that people don’t acknowledge their own skills because what one is able to do well always seems so normal, natural to oneself.

If you want a film to make a difference in your life, put some metaphoric thought glasses on when you see this documentary. Ask yourself: “What exactly made Vivian Maier resourceless? And to what extent do I resemble her?”

(tbc: The 6th episode will conclude this series.)