American Promise

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Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
Year: 2013
Running Time: 135 minutes

Synopsis
American Promise spans 13 years as Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, N.Y., turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, who make their way through one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys’ divergent paths from kindergarten through high school graduation at Manhattan’s Dalton School, this provocative, intimate documentary presents complicated truths about America’s struggle to come of age on issues of race, class and opportunity.

Awards
2013 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival – Spa City Best Documentary Feature
2013 Full Frame Film Festival – The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award
2014 Sundance Film Festival – Documentary Special Jury Prize for Achievement in Filmmaking
2014 Jozi Film Festival – Best International Documentary Feature