Born to be mild

15 MINUTES

A club for ‘dull men’ may just inspire you to see the unremarkable anew

Whether you’re crazy for roundabouts, addicted to photographing mailboxes, have the world’s largest collection of British milk bottles, or you’re a dull man with pretty much any sort of hobby that induces bafflement and yawns in friends and acquaintances, there’s a club just for you. A drolly cheerful celebration of the very ordinary, Born to Be Mild explores the uncommon hobbies practised by the members of the Dull Men’s Club – an online community that connects ‘dull men, and women who appreciate dull men’. A film-festival favourite upon its release in 2015, the UK director Andy Oxley’s now-beloved short documentary has, for nearly a decade, been introducing viewers to the mildly profound virtue of being ‘dull, not boring’. And while certainly played for droll laughs, the film may just inspire you to appreciate the mundane, familiar and otherwise unremarkable anew.

Director: Andy Oxley

Editor: Joshua Gaunt

Explore more

A person in vibrant, multicoloured activewear energetically poses with arms outstretched, while another stands behind. A jumper is mid-air above them.

Pablo has a simple dream – to spread joy. But the reality is more complicated

Directed by Daniel Ifans

An elderly man, smiling with closed eyes, playing a violin outdoors in a lush, green forest setting.

After years of hard work, three elders practise the arts of everyday life

Directed by Richard Kane and Dillon Bustin

Photo of silhouetted people sitting on benches in a modern building with glass and metal architecture overhead.

How to channel boredom

Feeling bored? Learn how to use that discomfort to switch up a gear and regain control over your life and your interests

by James Danckert & John Eastwood

Mountain biker in orange gear riding at sunset on a dirt trail in a desert landscape with sandstone cliffs in the background.

Meandering with purpose across the US, on his mountain bike, aged 71

Directed by Brandon Watts

Photo of a person in a pink jumper reading a book on a sofa with a blue mug in the foreground.

What it takes to run a book club for more than half a century

No talking about children, and a serious love of reading: what it takes to run a book club for more than half a century

by Jill Lawson

Photo of a man holding a microphone and equipment standing on a walkway with blurred people passing by in the foreground.

Lonely in London, a filmmaker sets out to make a new friend

A film by Hugh Clegg

A sailboat on a calm lake at dusk with snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

A boatbuilder above the Arctic Circle works hard at his epicurean life

Directed by Vern Cummins & Jamie Gallant

A blonde woman in a white robe smiles in a bathroom with two people filming in the background, bathed in soft lighting.

The filmmakers who transform fantasies into videos with an audience of one

Directed by Chung Nguyen