University and Freedom

Bitter Sweet Ballad

June 2025 •Chinese

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.

Finding the Money

May 2024 •English

FINDING THE MONEY follows economist Stephanie Kelton on a journey through Modern Money Theory or “MMT”. Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a historical record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government currently being held in pockets, as assets, by the rest of us. MMT bursts into the media with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?” But top economists from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering countries around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality.

A Pathway Forward

October 2024 •English

A year in the life of the unique Central High School Law and Government Magnet Program.

Mad Youth

April 2021 •Hungarian

The story behind the resistance of the students against the arbitrary political reforming of the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest.

Writing the Land

December 2007 •English

In this short documentary, a Musqueam elder rediscovers his Native language and traditions in the city of Vancouver, in the vicinity of which the Musqueam people have lived for thousands of years. Writing the Land captures the ever-changing nature of a modern city - the glass and steel towers cut against the sky, grass, trees and a sudden flash of birds in flight and the enduring power of language to shape perception and create memory.

Dance for All

September 2007 •English

A Calling to Care

September 2001 •English

A Calling to Care is the inspiring story of 55 year-old Grace Stanley, a Canadian nurse who left her home and prestigious career behind to answer a calling halfway around the world in Karachi, Pakistan. Teaching nursing to local women in a strict Muslim culture that forbids them to even to touch men is a formidable task. However, Grace challenges her own values and belief systems to find common ground with her students, helping them to excel and feel respect for themselves in a culture that doesn't respect them. Whether it is getting her hands painted with henna, swimming fully-clothed in the ocean, or marching bravely with them on International Women's Day, Grace bonds with her students in a very special way, and ultimately discovers how the West can learn a lot more from the Third World than she ever thought.

Decade for Decision

December 1957 •English

Short news featurette produced by Pathe-RKO after the Russians launched the first orbiting satellite, Sputnik. It is a patriotic 'call to arms' from the threat posed by this and the need for Americans to spend more on education in general and a college education in particular. A visit to the University of Buffalo highlights its science programs and the need for more graduates from all technical disciplines if America is to rise to the challenge. It bemoans the fact the PhDs earn less than a mechanic and the need to re-order priorities.

Les chiens-loups

October 2019 •French

School for Hope

November 2024 •Bulgarian

Animari and Zlatko's mission is to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds get the best possible care and education. Will they manage to find funding to welcome more children and to start a high school?

Our People Will Be Healed

September 2017 •English

Legendary documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin provides a glimpse of what action-driven decolonization looks like in Norway House, one of Manitoba's largest First Nation communities.

The Invisible School

December 2024 •English

The Guelph Outdoor School challenges modern education by providing children the freedom to connect with the natural world and themselves.

First Case, Second Case

February 1979 •Persian

First Case, Second Case is a documentary about a teacher who sends a group of pupils out of the classroom when one of them does not own up to talking behind the master's back.

Rise Above the Mark

December 2012 •English

The purpose of Rise Above the Mark, narrated by Peter Coyote, is to educate the general public about the “corporate takeover” of Indiana public schools and what parents, community members and educators can do to protect their local public schools. Legislators are calling the shots and putting public schools in an ever-shrinking box. WLCSC Board of School Trustees and Superintendent of Schools, Rocky Killion, want to secure resources and legislative relief necessary to achieve the school district’s mission of creating a world-class educational system for all children. The school district’s strategic plan will introduce a model of education that puts decision making back into the hands of local communities and public school teachers, rather than leaving it in the hands of legislators and ultimately lining the pockets of corporations.

The Bubble

July 2018 •English

Diving deep into the true causes of the Great Recession, the financial crisis of the 2010s, renowned economists, investors and business leaders explain what America is facing if we don't learn from our past mistakes. Is the economy really improving or are we just blowing up another Bubble?

Lismer

January 1952 •English

A short look at the world of artist Arthur Lismer.

Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?

January 2008 •English

Morgan Spurlock tours the Middle East to discuss the war on terror with Arabic people.

Signori professori

January 2008 •Italian

The film follows three young teachers in three different Italian regions.

Backpack Full of Cash

October 2016 •English

Documentary warning about the decline of American public schools as they become more and more privatized.

To Be and to Have

August 2002 •French

The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages (from four to twelve years), with a dedicated teacher, Georges Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year.