Cinema is one of the most powerful storytelling mediums ever created. Especially with modern technology, movies can bring to life stories that test the limits of human imagination. They can offer us an escape from reality, transport us to fantastical new worlds, or show us new ways of seeing and understanding what's happening right before us. 

Every film has the potential to inspire in some way - whether it's a movie about a woman doing her laundry or one about a group of magicians in a land inhabited by fairytale creatures. But when it comes to inspiring creativity, there are a few that stand out above the rest. 

Of course, any list of inspiring films will be purely subjective, but we hope you'll find something you've been looking for.

No list of inspirational films would ever be complete without this uplifting addition directed by and starring Ben Stiller. Walter Mitty is a negative assets manager at LIFE Magazine in New York. When the magazine undergoes a corporate takeover that would see a permanent transition to digital, Walter is tasked with developing the cover photo for the final print issue.

He receives a negative roll from legendary photojournalist and long-time collaborator Sean O'Connell, alongside a gift and a letter explaining that negative #25 captures the "quintessence of Life." But, the negative in question is missing. This takes Walter on a global journey to track down Sean and recover the lost photo. 

On the one hand, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a celebration of the countless thankless and unseen workers who dedicate their lives to building a company. On the other, it’s a character study we can all relate to in our busy, work-obsessed lives. Walter’s personal development throughout the film teaches us that sometimes, the best experiences and inspirations come simply from stepping out the proverbial front door. 

Hidden Figures tells the previously untold story of three African-American women at NASA: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. Together, their work was integral to John Glenn’s spaceflight in 1962, when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. 

The 60s was a period of massive racial and gender segregation in the United States. While working at NASA, each of these women had to overcome the obstacles that segregation brought - from white-only schools to “coloured” toilets halfway across campus. 

Though civil rights have progressed since the 1960s, those limitations still exist in some form, whether at an explicit or implicit level. Hidden Figures is a film all about overcoming the limitations placed on you on the basis of your identity. It highlights the power of perseverance and resilience, and the message at its heart will resonate with marginalised creatives everywhere. 

Not every film needs to have an in-your-face story about overcoming hardships for it to be inspiring. Ponyo is a heartwarming story about Sosuke, a young boy who rescues a goldfish trapped in a bottle. As it turns out, the goldfish is Ponyo, an ocean princess with the ability to turn into a human. The two fall in love, but Ponyo’s father, Fujimoto, isn’t quite ready to let his daughter go…

As with every other Studio Ghibli film, the inspiration isn't so much in the plot but the distinctive artwork. What makes the Ghibli oeuvre so visually arresting is the knowledge that each frame has been hand-drawn in service of the story. Anime can test the limits of fantasy, but what grounds the story in reality - and makes it so compelling - is the attention to detail to create worlds that the audience can easily step into.

Ponyo is the same explosion of colour, suspended between the real and the fantastic. It's an aesthetic masterpiece that will inspire creatives who work with a visual medium. But all that aside, sometimes all you need is to switch off and relax, and Ponyo is a light-hearted film that will refresh your energy.

Recent years have seen a popular trend in Hollywood of re-imagining classic movie villains. These character studies take a biographical approach, exploring how they became the antagonists we know and hate. First came Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent in 2014. Then, in 2019, Joaquin Pheonix brought a tragic depth to Todd Phillips’s Joker origin story. The latest in this line of villain character studies is Cruella, portrayed by Emma Stone. 

Before she became the devilish dalmatian-hunting designer, Cruella - otherwise known as Estella - was an orphan squatting in London with her two friends, Jasper and Horace. She was a creative kid, but her talents were wasted on pickpocketing and grifting. That is, until she bags a job at the renowned Liberty department store in London, where she manages to impress the intimidating designer Baroness Von Hellman. 

Set against the 1970s punk-rock revolution backdrop, Cruella is a bold homage to punk fashion. Outfits by Academy Award-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan wouldn’t be out of place on the runways of Paris Fashion Week - and they’re sure to inspire designers amongst the audience. If that wasn’t enough, Estella’s experience working as a designer under Baroness Von Hellman - while simultaneously trying to carve out her name and career - is also something many creatives in the fashion industry will understand all too well. 

What does it mean to be a creative? Where does the impulse to create come from? For many, it’s the idea of leaving behind a creative legacy - something good and something beautiful. 

Joe Gardener is a struggling middle-aged Jazz musician who dies prematurely just moments after securing his “big break” - a gig with his idol Dorothea Williams. Not yet ready to make the journey to the “great beyond”, Gardener, in his ethereal “soul” form, escapes the proverbial escalator to heaven only to end up in the “great before”, a nursery for unborn souls. Here, he’s tasked with mentoring the infamous “22.”

The most poignant thing about Soul - and that which invites the most introspection for creatives - is its central theme of a life review. In Soul, the departed humans chosen to become mentors can review the events of their life. Only, for Joe, his life was nothing like he’d envisioned it to be. 

Soul forces us to reflect on and reconsider both our choices and the priorities we hold. Are we really doing what we love? As a creative, the path to “success” is paved with years of financial instability, job insecurity, self-doubt, anxiety, and difficult comparisons. But, we brave these sacrifices out of a commitment to doing what we love. For Joe, that’s music. Jazz music. But for you, it could be anything. 

One of the biggest takeaways from soul is that we should live a life we can be happy to reflect on when our time comes. After all, death can come at any moment. So, it’s only right that we be fearless and unrelenting in pursuing our passions.. Otherwise, like Joe, we’ll only die to regret it.

We hope this small non-exhaustive selection gives you something to get your creative juices flowing. Happy watching!