SCHOOL/EDUCATION
TRY HARDER
Synopsis: Filmmaker Debbie Lum profiles five gifted students of the prestigious Lowell High School in San Francisco as they face the often brutal and rigorous process of college applications.
OT: Our Town
OT: our town Theatrical Trailer from scott kennedy on Vimeo.
In the impoverished Los Angeles neighborhood of Compton, a group of intrepid inner-city students and two courageous teachers attempt to do what has not been done in more than 20 years: put on a school theatrical production. They choose the Thornton Wilder classic “Our Town” and attempt to put the show together without any funding or even a stage. The students struggle to find the extra time and discipline required to perform in a play, not to mention remembering lines and learning how to act.
Education of Shelby Knox
What is bright 15-year-old Shelby Knox to do when confronted by the reality that abstinence can’t solve all the problems of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases — especially in Lubbock, Texas, which has some of the country’s highest incidences of both? The answer: She and her fellow students try to get sex education taught in city schools, which leads to clashes between Shelby and her conservative family, as her personal politics gradually diverge from those she grew up with.
Bully
Filmmaker Lee Hirsch examines five cases of youths who endure vicious persecution at the hands of their peers. Ja’meye, 14, winds up in reform school after pulling a gun on the youths who tormented her for years. Cameras record the abuse suffered by 14-year-old Alex as he’s beaten and teased on the bus. Star athlete Kelby, 16, is ostracized and worse after she comes out as lesbian. Most tragic of all, two boys, one 17 and one 12, commit suicide to escape the torture.
RUBY BRIDGES
Enrich civil rights lessons with the inspiring true story of one little girl whose strength and dignity during the racially charged 1960s helped change history! When bright six-year-old Ruby is chosen to be the first African-American student to integrate her local New Orleans elementary school, she is subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the very first time. But guided by the love of her mother and father, Ruby takes on a heroic struggle for a better education and becomes a symbol of courage and determination.
MCFARLAND USA PG
Inspired by the 1987 true story, novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school.
SPARE PARTS PG13
Four Hispanic high school students form a robotics club under the leadership of their school’s newest teacher, Fredi (George Lopez). With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country’s reigning robotics champion, MIT. On their journey, they learn not only how to build a robot- they learn to build a bond that will last a lifetime.