The First Class(2023)

American Teen(en)

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.

THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism(en)

What is the future of humanity? It might seem bleak, but the case for optimism is strong. Humanity has what it takes to reach transcendent futures.

Adolescents(fr)

Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to set them apart, their social backgrounds but also their personalities. From the age of thirteen to eighteen, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers during these years where radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portrait of France and its recent history.

Step(en)

The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.

But Beautiful(de)

In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world.

Harlem School 1970(en)

A unique 'direct cinema' feature length documentary (no narration or interviews) originally filmed in the Spring of 1970 and concluded during the Summer of 2017 (footage added, restored, and re-edited). A day in the life of an inner-city Harlem elementary school. In 2018 filmmaker Phil Gries reunited with seven of his former Harlem elementary students whom he hadn't seen in 50 years.

Freakonomics(en)

Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.

My So-Called High School Rank(en)

A deep dive into the lives of high school students in three radically disparate communities as they navigate the pressures around college while staging a musical, until seismic events upend their dreams and expectations.

More than a Game(en)

This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James' journey to fame.

Science Fair(en)

Filmmakers follow nine high school students from around the globe as they compete at an international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest teens from 78 countries, only one will be named Best in Fair.

How to Dance in Ohio(en)

In Columbus, Ohio, a group of autistic teenagers and young adults role-play this transition by going through the deceptively complex social interactions of preparing for a spring formal. Focusing on several young women as they go through an iconic American rite of passage, we are given intimate access to people who are often unable to share their experiences with others. With humor and heartbreak, How to Dance in Ohio shows the daily courage of people facing their fears and opening themselves to the pain, worry, and joy of the social world.

Resolved(en)

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

The Act of Reading(en)

A retired high school English teacher is confronted by a former student who failed her class 15 years prior. He then involves her in a feature-length presentation on Moby-Dick and the science of reading.

"L'Affaire Anna Lisbonne"(fr)

High School II(en)

HIGH SCHOOL II is a film about Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS), a successful alternative high school in New York's Spanish Harlem, 85-95% of whose graduates go on to four year colleges. The film illustrates the school's emphasis on the “Habits of Mind” program (weighing evidence; awareness of multiple points of view; seeing connections and relationships; speculating on possibilities; and assessing values.) Sequences illustrating the school's approach to learning include: classroom activities in the humanities and sciences; family conferences; discussions of race, class, and gender; faculty meetings; disciplinary problems; sex education; conflict resolution by students; and student council meetings.

Containment(en)

Every nuclear weapon made, every watt of electricity produced from a nuclear power plant leaves a trail of nuclear waste that will last for the next four hundred generations. We face the problem of how to warn the far distant future of the nuclear waste we have buried --but how to do it? How to imagine the far-distant threats to the sites, what kinds of monuments can be built, could stories or legends safeguard our descendants? Filmed at the only American nuclear burial ground, at a nuclear weapons complex and in Fukushima, the film grapples with the ways people are dealing with the present problem and imagining the future. Part observational essay, part graphic novel, this documentary explores the idea that over millennia, nothing stays put.

Supervolcano: Yellowstone's Fury(en)

For over a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park. But, beneath all this beauty lurks a beast. Yellowstone sits directly above one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth. For the past two million years, this supervolcano has erupted roughly every 600,000 years. The last major eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. So, is it overdue for another eruption? There have been disturbing signals... Supervolcano: Yellowstone's Fury examines the cataclysmic effect an eruption would have on the world. It would be the largest natural disaster in recorded history. NYU Earth Scientist Michael Rampino warns, "An eruption like Yellowstone could trigger the end of civilization as we know it." For experts, the question is not if there will be another eruption, but when. University of Toronto geologist John Westgate agrees: "There will be a very large-scale supervolcanic eruption from Yellowstone. That's a fact."

Zoned In(en)

Winner of the New York LOVES Film Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. Filmed over the course of nine years, Zoned In traces the remarkable real-life journey of 16-year-old Daniel from a Bronx high school to an Ivy League university while simultaneously exploring the role of race and class in the American education system. Narrated by Daniel himself, the movie celebrates the accomplishments of this extraordinary young man but does not shy away from depicting his struggles to fit in amongst the privileged students at his college and his candid questioning of a system that has allowed him to excel but has left so many of his friends and family members behind.

Temples of Dreams(fi)

Documentary about Finnish film theaters - about their past, disappearance and future. And at the same time universal story how cinema is undeniably connected with life.

Going Varsity in Mariachi(en)

A year in the life of an underdog competitive high school mariachi band in the Texas borderlands.