“Our school” follows three Roma children in a rural Transylvanian village who are among the first participants in an initiative to integrate the ethnically segregated Romanian schools. In 2006, Alin, Benjamin and Dana set out from their dead-end segregated school for the city, optimistic for education and new friendships with Romanians. The children’s hopes and innocent optimism quickly sour as they meet with low expectations and further isolation. Shot over a period of four years, the documentary touches on issues ranging from institutionalized racism, public education, and the intractability of poverty, culminating in an outrageous finale that cements the Roma children’s struggle in the annals of egregious human rights violations.
AUDIO: Romanian
SUBTITLE: English, Romanian
awards and festivals
One World Prague 2011, Czech Republic
Lone Star International Film Festival 2011, USA
Thessaloniki Doc Fest 2011, Greece
DocEst 2011, Romania
Visions du Reel 2011, Switzerland
One World Slovakia 2011, Slovakia
Tribeca Film Festival 2011, USA
Romanian Film Festival at Lincoln Center Film Society 2011, USA
Imagine India 2011, Spain
This Human World 2011, Austria
Transylvania International Film Festival 2011, Romania
WatchDocs 2011, Poland
Guth Gafa 2011, Ireland
Documentarist/Which Human Rights? 2011, Turkey
SilverDocs 2011, USA
Journees du Soleure 2012, Switzerland
DokuFest 2011, Kosovo
Trieste Film Festival 2012, Italy
FanFest 2011, Romania
Etoiles Francophones 2012, France
EBS International Documentary Festival EIDF 2011, South Korea
Movies that Matter 2012, the Netherlands
Noaptea Alba a Filmului Romanesc 2011, Romania
Cape Winelands Film Festival 2012, South Africa
Camden International Film Festival 2011, USA
Sebastopol Documentary Festival 2012, USA
DokLepizig 2011, Germany
Festival International de Films de Femmes de Créteil 2012, France
United Nations Association Film Festival 2011, USA
Lacho Divano 2012, France
Document 9 2011, Scotland
Council of Foundations Documentary Festival 2012, USA
Astra 2011, Romania
Inconvenient Films 2011, Lithuania
PREMII
CPH:DOX 2011, Denmark
Sterling Award for Best US Feature, Silverdocs 2011
Verzio 2011, Hungary
nomination - Silver Eye Award for Best Eastern European Feature-Length Documentary