The First Class(2023)

Full Out: Inside Ohio Show Choir(en)

Four unique high school show choirs in Ohio prepare themselves to win during their highly-anticipated, grueling and glamorous competition season.

Permission to Exist(en)

In just sixty years, South Korea went from being one of the poorest countries on the Asian continent to having the 12th largest economy in the entire world. Every year, it is measured that Korean students have some of the highest test scores and a higher rate of acceptance into Ivy League schools compared to all other nations. But on the flip side, South Korea also has one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world, the highest gender pay gap of all developed countries, and the highest plastic surgery rate per capita. Always expected to receive top scores and constantly bombarded by media and messages that seem to demand nothing short of visual “perfection,” how do these individuals come to accept and learn to love themselves as they are?

Bots High(en)

Bots High is an exciting documentary following the adventures of three high school robotics teams battling for first place at a national robotics competition in Miami, Florida. It's a no-holds-barred fight to the death with robot carnage everywhere you look. Genius inventor Will builds robots so powerful they're unstoppable...if only they don't destroy themselves first. The Mechanical Misfits are an all girls team stumbling through their first foray into combat robotics and Elizabeth and Danielle are a formidable pair looking to reign supreme during their last year of high school. Bots High follows these students as they design, build and compete at Nationals - all while surviving high school, first love and teenager procrastination. A FilmBuff Presentation.

THE HUMAN FUTURE: A Case for Optimism(en)

What is the future of humanity? It might seem bleak, but the case for optimism is strong. Humanity has what it takes to reach transcendent futures.

American Teen(en)

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.

Adolescents(fr)

Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to set them apart, their social backgrounds but also their personalities. From the age of thirteen to eighteen, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers during these years where radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portrait of France and its recent history.

Namaste Nepal(en)

American high school students from the privileged Silicon Valley travel to Manang, Nepal in this documentary about how travel and life experiences can change personal perceptions. Together with a group of Manangi high schoolers, the students expand their cultural knowledge and experience a slice of life as a citizen of the globe.

The Future of Cities(en)

This is a conversation starter first, a video second.

"L'Affaire Anna Lisbonne"(fr)

You Vs. Wildgnorance(it)

Resolved(en)

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

Step(en)

The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city.

An Intervention(en)

Chelsea Bledsoe and her husband Graig throw a surprise intervention for her old high school boyfriend, Henry, with a mismatched group of acquaintances from back in the day to fill out the guest list.

Jeff Weise: My Personal Documentary(en)

Documentary about the Red Lake school shooting and its perpetrator, Jeff Weise.

The Act of Reading(en)

A retired high school English teacher is confronted by a former student who failed her class 15 years prior. He then involves her in a feature-length presentation on Moby-Dick and the science of reading.

TIME TO DIE(es)

But Beautiful(de)

In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world.

Freakonomics(en)

Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.

How to Dance in Ohio(en)

In Columbus, Ohio, a group of autistic teenagers and young adults role-play this transition by going through the deceptively complex social interactions of preparing for a spring formal. Focusing on several young women as they go through an iconic American rite of passage, we are given intimate access to people who are often unable to share their experiences with others. With humor and heartbreak, How to Dance in Ohio shows the daily courage of people facing their fears and opening themselves to the pain, worry, and joy of the social world.

Science Fair(en)

Filmmakers follow nine high school students from around the globe as they compete at an international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest teens from 78 countries, only one will be named Best in Fair.