A documentary subject continues living after the film has decided where their story ends.

The film ends and the person keeps going. Someone else decided where their story stopped, and they now live past that ending, with a version of themselves fixed and circulating that they will never fully control. Being represented is a permanent handover.

So be careful about telling other people’s stories, including the ones you tell casually about friends and family. You are fixing a version of them for other people. Ask what they would want said, and update your account when they change, since the person you described three years ago has continued living.