On the Way to School
Presenting education as a prize, not an obligation, Plisson’s thoroughly engaging documentary follows four kids aged 11-13 as they make their committed way to school through Kenyan semi-arid savannah, Moroccan mountains, Argentine plains and rural India. The merging of a meta-text on the rights of children with playful sequences that show kids in all their strength and vulnerability depends in part on staged scenes – but this only underscores rather than detracting from the underlying realities.
On the Way to School (Auf dem Weg zur Schule) | Directed by Pascal Plisson (France, China, Columbia, South Africa, Brazil 2013) documentary. Starts December 5
Originally published in issue #122, December 2013.