I saw some very good documentaries at this year's festival, but My Flesh and Blood hit the closest to home.

In this stirring, emotional piece, director Jonathan Karsh examines Susan Tom, a woman who would eventually adopt thirteen special needs children. The children's disabilities all vary. Some are missing limbs while others are chronically ill. While the movie does examine the children themselves, it's also a fascinating character profile of Ms. Tom, a strong yet insecure woman who obviously has a hole in her heart that is ultimately filled by these wonderful kids.

My wife and I had a baby girl born at twenty-two weeks. Every possible thing that could go wrong in McKenzie's life did, but our tough little daughter persevered. She survived. McKenzie is almost five now, and while she does have medical problems, she remains one of the most important things in our lives and we love her. We wouldn't trade in this experience for the world. The point I'm trying to make is that I could really identify with this movie, and as a result, I got quite choked up throughout it.

Karsh has put this film together in strong fashion, but it is Tom and her children that make the movie what it is. This isn't fiction, this is real life and this documentary offers up a shocking twist that I didn't see coming. Certainly, this makes for more intense drama then many dramas I've seen.

There were many great documentaries at this year's festival, but none of them moved me the way My Flesh and Blood did. This is an incredibly personal film that, with all it's hardships, shows that there is goodness in the world. Ms. Tom is a hero in my book.