Envision A Small Act
angela
On Saturday, I attended IFP’s Envision, a program of screenings, panel discussions, presentations and social networking—all targeted to explore creative solutions to the global education crisis, with particular emphasis on the UN’s Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education.
After a keynote by the magnanimous, Harry Belafonte, A Small Act was screened, a truly impressive film. You can watch the trailer below.
A Small Act Trailer 2010 from Jennifer Arnold on Vimeo.
Some educators I met criticized the film for being too test focused but that is a flaw within education as a whole, a theme of the day as reflected by films like Waiting for “Superman” which was screened in the afternoon.
The panel that followed the A Small Act screening featured representatives from The Clinton Global Initiative, Brookings International, and Chris Mburu, the protagonist of the film, who works at the UN. Unfortunately, their suggestions for how the audience could take action were vague. Chris encouraged filmmakers to continue making feature-length documentaries because of the exposure they bring to issues like education. He said, “They are forcing our governments to listen.”
He should know. At the Sundance Film Festival, where A Small Act premiered, audiences donated ninety-thousand dollars to The Hilde Back Education Fund. For a fund that typically runs on eight thousand dollars a year gathered from personal donations that was a huge. It changed the scope of the entire organization.
A Small Act premieres on HBO tonight.
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| Posted on July 12, 2010
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