DOC NYC: Films About Education

This year, DOC NYC’s lineup includes a number of films about a perennial hot-button issue, education.

THE PREP SCHOOL NEGRO André Robert Lee revisits the life-changing events of his adolescence when he gained a way out of Philadelphia’s ghettos with a scholarship to an elite prep school. As he moved into a different world, he grew distant from his sister and mother. In this poignant film, he explores thorny questions of race, education, opportunity and family. He also spends time with current day prep school students of color to see if anything has changed inside the ivory tower.

Expected to Attend: André Robert Lee

RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA US PREMIERE Rafea is a Bedouin woman who lives with her daughters in a village near the Jordan-Iraq border. She is given a chance to travel to India to attend the Barefoot College, where illiterate women from around the world are trained in six months to be solar engineers. If Rafea succeeds, she will be able to electrify her village, train more engineers, and provide for her daughters. But can she overcome all the obstacles that stand in her way?

Expected to Attend: Mona Eldaief

THE MOSUO SISTERS US PREMIERE When they lose their jobs in Beijing, Juma and Latso, sisters from one of the world’s last matriarchal societies, are thrust into the worldwide economic downturn. Left with few options, they return home to their remote village in the Himalayas. But home is no longer what it was, as growing exposure to the modern world has irrevocably altered the traditions of the Mosuo. Determined to keep their family out of poverty, one sister sacrifices her dream of an education and stays home to farm, while the other leaves to try her luck again in the city.

Expected to Attend: Marlo Poras