American Promise

American Promise (2013)

Success is Our Only Option

In 1999, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson turned the camera on themselves and began filming their five-year-old son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, as they started kindergarten at the prestigious Dalton School just as the private institution was committing to diversify its student body. Their cameras continued to follow both families for another 12 years as the paths of the two boys diverged—one continued private school while the other pursued a very different route through the public education system.

Date of release
2013-10-18
TMDB
6.7 / 10 (6)
Runtime
2h 15m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: Sundance Special Jury Prize for Achievement in Filmmaking

American Promise is a documentary film spanning 13 years from directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson. The film captures the stories of Brewster and Stephenson's 5-year-old son Idris and his best friend and classmate Seun as these families navigate their way through the rigorous prep-school process and secure admission to the Dalton School. The film is set against the backdrop of a persistent educational achievement gap that dramatically affects African-American boys at all socioeconomic levels across the country. The film's focus shifted based on the experiences that Idris and Seun faced while at Dalton.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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