Films with: Fifer, Sally Jo

Class of '27

"On native lands of the Upper Midwest, in the hollows of Appalachia and in West Coast migrant camps, parents contemplate a compromised future for their children, facing depressed local economies and soaring dropout rates. But a growing body of research on quality child development offers hope for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Three diverse filmmaking teams set out across rural America, exploring the lives of our youngest citizens and telling the stories of families and communities coming together-- against the odds-- to guide their children into successful graduates of the Class of '27."--Container. "In Class of '27, three diverse filmmaking teams set out across rural America to explore the lives of our youngest citizens and tell the stories of families and communities coming together-- against the odds-- to guide their children into successful graduates of the Class of '27."--Publisher's website http://lostnationpictures.com/projects/class-of-27/, viewed 05/08/2017. "The three stories focus on students, educators, parents and guardians in three locations: Owsley County, KY, the poorest county in the US; along the West Coast with children of farm workers; and in White Earth Nation, the largest and poorest Native American reservation in Minnesota"--Internet movie database.

DVD 12600

Deaf jam

Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, discovers the power of American Sign Language poetry. As she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a spoken-word slam, her journey leads to an unexpected collaboration. [from discussion guide.]

DVD 13341

Precious knowledge

"While 48 percent of Mexican-American students currently drop out of high school, Tucson (Ariz.) High [School's] Mexican American Studies Program has become a national model of educational success, with 93 percent of enrolled students graduating from high school. However, Arizona lawmakers [state school superintendents Tom Horne and John Huppenthal and Gov. Jan Brewer have] shut the program down because they believe the students are being indoctrinated with dangerous ideology and embracing destructive ethnic chauvinism"--Container.

DVD 9365

Waiting room

A character driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients. The film offers a raw, intimate, and even uplifting look at how patients, staff caregivers each cope with disease, bureaucracy and hard choices.

DVD 9760

Where soldiers come from

In Michigan's snowy Upper Peninsula, job opportunities are few, and friends are usually for life. For Dominic Fredianelli and his high school buddies, joining the National Guard offered a $20,000 windfall and assistance with college tuition--all for only one weekend a month. Little did they know. This documentary follows three of these young men over four eventful years: through basic training and a 2009 deployment to an explosives unit in Afghanistan; to visits with their families while they are overseas; and the rocky return home, without commentary. Focusing on the reverberations of war in small, close-knit communities the film offers a commentary on class, as the real cost of distant political decisions are illuminated, as well as the shame of a country with little to offer its less fortunate young people than a ticket to a battlefield.

DVD 8966