These Hard-Hitting Films for Upworthy Explore the Subject of Meaning

What gives life meaning? How does the idea of meaning change when facing the unthinkable or the incomprehensible? Two short films premiering on Upworthy by director Peyton Wilson explore how life-changing events define meaning for starkly different subjects. Presented by Bullitt Entertainment, the short documentaries are 'The Inmate' and 'The Acid Survivor'. They travel, respectively, inside a prison where confinement and movement intersect to provide solace via the Oregon State Penitentiary’s running program, and to India where acid attack victims face acts of personal terror by helping others.

The series On Meaning compassionately illuminates those largely unseen for a broader understanding of what propels people onward. Wilson, a filmmaker renowned for documenting resonant topics, created this series in collaboration with an all-female production team. 

The films are a poignant reminder that society's focus on happiness doesn’t necessarily lead to more of it. Research has shown that simply pursuing happiness actually leaves people less happy. On Meaning captures that the surest path to a happy life isn’t the pursuit of happiness, it's a journey with meaning. In fact, when people find meaning, their overall well-being dramatically increases.