ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL /
Sur le chemin de l’école

 

West Coast Premiere • Documentary • France, 2013

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 77 min

 

Directed by: Pascal Plisson

Written by: Marie-Claire Javoy, Pascal Plisson

Cinematography: Simon Watel

Film Editing: Sarah Anderson, Sylvie Lager

Original Score: Laurent Ferlet

Produced by: Barthélémy Fougea (Winds)

International Sales: Wild Bunch

US Distributor: Distrib Films • distribfilms.com

US Release date: September 2014

 

It’s been said that an education is like an adventure, but for the far-flung youngsters in this picturesque documentary the adventure begins before they ever get to school. This touching winner of the 2014 César for Best Documentary follows four tweeners as they risk their lives each day in their quests for knowledge. Twice a day, Jackson walks nine miles of Kenyan savannah, teeming with dangerous animals. Carlito and his sister ride the family horse through an often-treacherous twelve miles of Patagonian pampas, no matter how extreme the weather, Zahira travels four hours on foot, carrying a live chicken to trade for food. And in the Bay of Bengal, perhaps most challenging of all, Samuel’s two younger brothers push him two miles in a wheelchair made of bicycle wheels and a plastic lawn chair. With only their voices as a guide, these inspiring kids illustrate the growing appreciation for education the world over.

 

Writer/director Pascal Plisson is no stranger to shooting in the wild. In the early 1990s he specialized in documentaries about men living in extreme conditions, from Siberia to the Australian desert. Soon the African wilderness called his name, and he settled into Kenya and Tanzania making wildlife documentaries for National Geographic, BBC, and Canal+. It was here that he came to know and love the Massai people. His first feature film, Massai (2004), told the incredible story of Massai warriors on the hunt for a lion that will bring needed rain. His real encounter with three Massai kids who had been running for two hours just to get to school inspired this award-winning documentary directed by Plisson and co-written with Marie-Claire Javoy.

 

 “There’s no doubt that each one of these kids is remarkable, not only in their sheer physical tenacity, but in their sincere hope that an education will lead to a better life.”

- Jordan Mintzer HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

(Opening night Q/a hosted by Matthew Weiner (Mad Men))