Waiting For "Superman"

(USA, 2009, 102 mins)

Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann
Producer: Lesley Chilcott
Screenwriters: Davis Guggenheim, Billy Kimball
Cinematographer: Erich Roland
Editors: Greg Finton, Jay Cassidy, Kim Roberts
Cast: Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee

In Waiting for “Superman” Davis Guggenheim, the director of An Inconvenient Truth, turns his sharp and probing eye on the tragic failure of our public education system. Why, he asks, does one of the richest nations in the world do such a poor job educating its children?  Why should kids' futures depend on a lottery and a one-in-a-thousand chance to win a spot in a charter school?  Why is it nearly impossible for a bad teacher to be fired?

This hard-hitting and moving investigation never loses sight of the personal, as Guggenheim follows four urban kids, whose lives depend on our fixing this national disgrace. He is not afraid to take on the powerful teacher's union, bad teachers, entrenched bureaucracies, and politicians in the pocket of special interests. But this lively documentary is not just about casting blame. He offers hope not just in the form of inspiring teachers and reformers such as Geoffrey Canada and Michelle Rhee, but also in the touching story of the kids whose hunger to learn is a challenge and an example to us all.

David Ansen

Expected to attend: Davis Guggenheim.

  Print this Page