State of the Wasted Potential
January 22nd, 2010 JonSeems only right that our first post of the new decade would be in regards to solving the nation’s education crisis. We are spreading some love about a documentary a friend of ours made. Check it out.
The website for the documentary I have been working on for the past year is now live at: www.thelotteryfilm.com. More information is listed below. We are looking to collect as many signatures as possible in support of resolving the education crisis, so please, sign the Education Constitution (www.thelotteryfilm.com/homepage/petition)!
Thank you in advance for your support! If you have friends or family who write for blogs or papers and think they might be interested in covering the project, feel free to have them contact me directly or the numbers listed below.
Warm regards,
Madeleine
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
The Lottery, a suspenseful and emotional documentary about the crisis in public education by producer-director Madeleine Sackler, will be coming to theaters beginning May 7, 2010 through Zipline Entertainment.
A trailer for the film and information about the crisis – and what we can do to help – can be found at the film’s website
www.thelotteryfilm.com
Please post the link to help spread the word for education reform!
Trailer also available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMzt7YGxLjg.
Website also features a press packet with additional information and resources for parents, teachers, and students.
The website also launches the first ever
Education Constitution. Help to solicit signatures so that we can press our counry’s leadership to improve education standards and the future of America!
Visitors to the website can also Demand the Film by entering their email address and zipcode on the home page. Do this so that we know to bring the film to a theater near you!
About the Film
The Lottery documentary follows four families as they flee their assigned public schools and enter a high stakes and low odds lottery for acceptance into a Harlem charter school. A heartbreaking look at parents who will not accept failing schools for their children but may have to, The Lottery exposes the backwards politics and nefarious agendas of politicians and special interest groups who stand in the way of improving a failing public school system.
“I wanted to show that we do not have to accept failure, because some schools are proving that all kids can succeed if given the chance. Parents know the difference and apply in droves to the better schools. The tragedy is that the demands of adults are getting in the way of the needs of kids,” said Sackler. “Where you’re born is a lottery. Going to a great school shouldn’t be.”
Interviewees include Mayor Cory Booker, Chancellor Joel Klein, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Harlem Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz, Harlem Children’s Zone President and CEO Geoffrey Canada, Achievement First co-CEO Dacia Toll, and New York Times Magazine editor Paul Tough.
“This is a New York story about a national crisis,” says producer James Lawler. “Through four beautifully told human stories, it poses the question, do we really want an America where we’ve institutionalized the failure of thousands of schools?”
For additional information, including setting up interviews with the filmmakers:
Nina Baron – nina@ziplineentertainment.com / 212.257.6919
George Nicholis – george@ziplineentertainment.com / 212.257.6914
