The School of Education will show a special screening of "Night School" on April 10 at 5 p.m. in Turner Theatre. The screening will be followed by snacks and conversation around important topics raised by the film.
SYNOPSIS:
Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. For adult learners Greg, Melissa and Shynika, finally earning their high school diplomas could be a life-changing achievement. Emmy award-winning director Andrew Cohn’s absorbing documentary observes their individual pursuits, fraught with the challenges of daily life and the broader systemic roadblocks faced by many low income Americans.
PRESS:
“The three people you meet—52 year old grandmother Melissa, who wants to prove to herself she can be somebody; Greg, a single dad who’s getting out of drug dealing and wants a real job; and Shynika, who’s fed up with fast-food work and dreams of nursing—are all people who look like the folks you may not even see on your commute on public transportation. Their stories are complex and all their own. The problems they face are structural, endemic, and belong to everybody.”
– American University and the Center for Media & Social Impact
“Going deep into the lives of his subjects, filmmaker Andrew Cohn puts faces on statistics and reintroduces the human factor into a faltering social milieu that often gets obscured amid political debates… “Night School” is immersed in its sense of place: Indianapolis, which has one of the country’s highest high school dropout rates. The film’s three subjects, each from a low-income neighborhood, struggle with the challenges of poverty while pushing for new opportunities that a degree can offer them.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Director Andrew Cohn observes the individual journeys of three adult students as they fight to better themselves and their situations. Each has their own personal reasons and motivations but ultimately they have realized graduating to be a crucial stepping stone to bettering their lives. As in Cohn’s directorial debut, Medora, the remarkable authenticity of these stories and the way in which they are woven together is both sobering and enlightening. These dynamic and empathetic characters are inspiring in their perseverance, and their small individual stories take on a larger importance in the context of the ongoing struggle for equal access to education in America.”
– Tribeca Film Festival
