The Heart Machine
Black Schools Matter. The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy is an Afrocentric school in Chicago that city school officials targeted for closure in 2015. But a group of 7th and 8th grade filmmakers and their…
The Heart Machine
Black Schools Matter. The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy is an Afrocentric school in Chicago that city school officials targeted for closure in 2015. But a group of 7th and 8th grade filmmakers and their teacher were not going to stand for it. The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy (BASA) is the "Jewel of Englewood": an Afrocentric oasis of primary education in a community unfortunately known for its high murder rate, as featured in Spike Lee's "Chiraq". A chance encounter at a restorative justice seminar between BASA's head of cultural affairs, Jonathan Speller, and filmmaker David Steiner, turns out to be high-order serendipity: mere days after their meeting, Speller learns that the Chicago Public School District has slated BASA for closure due to its allegedly low test scores. In collaboration with the fiercely dedicated BASA teachers and administrators - and in a stroke of the creative genius for which he was known - Steiner arms five students with video cameras. Through them, they learn to tell not only their own stories of perseverance against all odds, but the truth behind the test scores upon which their beloved school's closure is based. The film highlights the cultural empowerment of BASA's curriculum and devoted teachers, as well as the inspiration that the students find both behind the camera lens and before it. This beautiful film is nothing short of a David-and-Goliath story that leaves audience members enthralled. —Diane Kliebard The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy, an Afrocentric school in crime-ridden Englewood, is slated for closure. Arming five students with video cameras, filmmaker David Steiner shows them how to plead their school's case through the power of film. —Diane Kliebard
The Heart Machine
Drama,Thriller
Film Details
Black Schools Matter. The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy is an Afrocentric school in Chicago that city school officials targeted for closure in 2015.
But a group of 7th and 8th grade filmmakers and their teacher were not going to stand for it. The Barbara A. Sizemore Academy (BASA) is the "Jewel of Englewood": an Afrocentric oasis of primary education in a community unfortunately known for its high murder rate, as featured in Spike Lee's "Chiraq".
A chance encounter at a restorative justice seminar between BASA's head of cultural affairs, Jonathan Speller, and filmmaker David Steiner, turns out to be high-order serendipity: mere days after their meeting, Speller learns that the Chicago Public School District has slated BASA for closure due to its allegedly low test scores. In collaboration with the fiercely dedicated BASA teachers and administrators - and in a stroke of the creative genius for which he was known - Steiner arms five students with video cameras. Through them, they learn to tell not only their own stories of perseverance against all odds, but the truth behind the test scores upon which their beloved school's closure is based.
The film highlights the cultural empowerment of BASA's curriculum and devoted teachers, as well as the inspiration that the students find both behind the camera lens and before it. This beautiful film is nothing short of a David-and-Goliath story that leaves audience members enthralled. —Diane Kliebard The Barbara A.
Sizemore Academy, an Afrocentric school in crime-ridden Englewood, is slated for closure. Arming five students with video cameras, filmmaker David Steiner shows them how to plead their school's case through the power of film. —Diane Kliebard.