1. Maestra
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women. MAESTRA explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island - and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.
2. Marked by Darkness (Poznačení tmou)
Short, evocative documentary on the education of blind and partially sighted children.
3. I Am Hope
Through fly-on-the-wall footage and insightful interviews, director ShakaJamal chronicles the effort to create a first-of-its-kind yoga and mindfulness program for Oakland Unified School District middle schools. Aimed at expanding students’ awareness and refining their goals, the initiative has been a unique success, and I Am Hope offers a poignant portrait of the day-to-day struggles of diverse young people united in their desire to pursue big dreams.
4. Flying Paper
Flying Paper tells the uplifting story of resilient Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
5. O Zé Analfabeto e o Trânsito (O Zé Analfabeto e o Trânsito)
(O Zé Analfabeto e o Trânsito)
It has an average vote of 3 on TMDB.
6. On the Way to School (Sur le chemin de l'école)
These children live in the four corners of the earth, but share the same thirst for learning. They understand that only education will allow them a better future and that is why, every day, they must set out on the long and perilous journey that will lead them to knowledge. Jackson and his younger sister from Kenya walk 15 kilometres each way through a savannah populated by wild animals; Carlito rides more than 18 kilometres twice a day with his younger sister, across the plains of Argentina; Zahira lives in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains who has an exhausting 22 kilometres walk along punishing mountain paths before she reaches her boarding school; Samuel from India sits in a clumsy DIY wheelchair and the 4 kilometres journey is an ordeal each day, as his two younger brothers have to push him all the way to school…
It has an average vote of 6.781 on TMDB.
7. Death (& Rebirth) Of A PhD
This Cheeky Scientist Documentary chronicles origins of Cheeky Scientist and includes in depth interviews with PhDs from different backgrounds who overcame extreme personal challenges to get hired in industry. This feature also includes behind the scenes footage of the Cheeky Scientist Summit and is narrated by Isaiah Hankel, Ph.D.
8. Mio
Mio blir som barn skickad till Sverige för att tjäna ihop pengar till sin familj i Thailand. Men det går inte som föräldrarna planerat. Under tre år följer regissör Jonas Embring Mio och hans gäng på Henriksdalsberget utanför Stockholm. De lever i en hård vardag med kriminell identitet och våld. Till sist bestämmer sig Mio för att förändra sitt liv.
9. Tractor Ted Diggers and Dumpers
Tractor Ted takes us to see some amazing diggers and dumpers at work. The huge excavators are at work in the quarry, where we see them blasting rock and then down at the river clearing banks. Dave is working on his digger showing us different jobs he can use it for and the children have a tricky job trying to catch the lambs.
10. Vincennes, l'université perdue (Vincennes, l'université perdue)
Recounts the epic of Vincennes Experimental University Center, from its creation after the events of May 68 until its demolition in the summer of 1980. To talk about Vincennes is to relive unique ten years of intense intellectual and political extravaganza, educational and artistic inventiveness, utopias, hopes, and betrayals that marked the history in a unique place, the forest with the eponymous name.
It has an average vote of 8.5 on TMDB.
11. If You Build It
A year in the life of one of America's most innovative classrooms where students design & build to transform their hometown community. The film follows Emily Pilloton and Matt Miller as they teach the fundamentals of design, architecture and construction to a class of high school juniors in rural North Carolina.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
12. Nielimishe
Documentary about primary education in impoverished areas of Nairobi.
13. Dance for All
(Dance for All)
14. A City Decides
A City Decides chronicles the events that led to the integration of the St. Louis public schools in 1954. An Oscar-nominated short documentary from 1956.
It has an average vote of 5.7 on TMDB.
15. Bitter Sweet Ballad (风起前的蒲公英)
This is a story about youth with music. It all happens at the Dandelion School, Beijing’s first middle school specifically established for the children of migrant workers. Every year when new pupils arrive, Ms. Yuan Xiaoyan, who has worked in the school choir for eight years, would choose a group of music-loving first-years with solid musical foundations to join the choir. A new group of children join the choir while those who have advanced to the second year have to discuss with their families their future choices. For choir members, their music career in middle school will eventually stop due to the pressure of high school entrance examinations and the inevitable parting. But along this journey accompanied by music, they have been savoring the joys and sorrows of their youth, burying them deep in their hearts, and transforming them into growth-promoting nutrients.
16. Behind Our Walls
In America, the prison system has become a place of retribution, not restoration. Inmates are often treated as sub-human, and often find themselves feeling hopeless. But a small midwest college decides to give inmates an opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree. Experience the journey of the resilient inmates as they fight incredible odds to change their lives – and change the system.
17. Preschool to Prison
Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.
18. Desconectados: Os Impactos da Pandemia na Educação Brasileira (Desconectados: Os Impactos da Pandemia na Educação Brasileira)
(Desconectados: Os Impactos da Pandemia na Educação Brasileira)
19. Education Rebuilt (Education Rebuilt)
In 2018 the 1st & 2nd EPA.L. Agia Paraskevi relocates to a new state of the art building after 20+ years of being in an unsuitable and ready to fall apart one. The situation got so bad that the students where literally hanging out with the chickens next to the building and as the principal of the school council told us they actually felt like they themselves where the chickens. The construction of the new building was held up since the original contractor "ran out of money" and thus the building was abandoned mid construction, the building stayed in this stage for more than 5 years where it was looted and vandalized. The situation had reached an impasse and so the students decided to step up and speak directly to the mayor resulting in getting heard by the secondary school administration, so years later a second contractor was hired to complete this project and finally put into operation.
20. Like It Is
This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.