Product Description

Don’t miss the true coming-of-age story that follows a group of extraordinary 12-year-old boys from the most violent ghettos of Baltimore to an experimental boarding school 10,000 miles away in rural Kenya. An emotionally explosive journey shot over three years, the film zeroes in on a group of brave kids who are willing to cross the ocean to chase an opportunity – boys with a fierce determination to fight the label of "throw-away."

Winner! Best Documentary
Chicago Film Festival 2005
Atlanta Film Festival 2005
Newport International Film Festival 2005

Winner! Audience Award
Silverdocs Film Festival 2005
Woodstock Film Festival 2005

Winner! Special Jury Prize
SXSW Film Festival 2005

Short-listed for the Academy Award® nominations for Best Documentary Feature Film

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13574 in DVD
• Brand: THINKFILM LLC
• Released on: 2006-06-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 84 minutes

Features

• This documentary follows several young and courageous boys through three crucial years of their youth, joining them in their journey across the ocean and towards opportunity. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES Rating: NR Age: 821575548052 UPC: 821575548052 Manufacturer No: TF-54805

Amazon.com
If everyone in high government office saw The Boys of Baraka, who knows what kind of positive change it might inspire? From this remarkable documentary about hope and second chances, the message is clear: The poorest, most violent, undesirable neighborhoods in America are a breeding ground for hopelessness and despair, and there's a solution if only we'd give it a good fighting chance. The scene is Baltimore, Maryland, in 2002, where 76% of all African American boys living in the inner-city ghetto will never earn a high school diploma. As one adult tells the kids at a Baltimore school, they have three choices: jail, an early death, or graduating high school--and you know she's telling the cold, hard truth. That's when we learn of the Baraka School in Kenya, East Africa, where 20 African American boys (ages 12 and 13) are chosen each year to enter a transformative two-year course of schooling, away from their families in Baltimore. The purpose of the school, in part, is to demonstrate that the toxic environment of Baltimore, and its negative impact on the self-esteem of ghetto residents, can be reversed by removing these boys to Baraka, where a strict regimen of classes and responsibilities has an immediate, if not always permanent, beneficial effect.

We follow several boys on this fascinating journey toward growth and renewal. Devon is an aspiring preacher with musical talent; Montrey is a troublemaker with a bad attitude, who dreams of a career in science; brother Richard and Romesh are both accepted into Baraka, and despite setbacks both flourish in the program. Codirectors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady capture their gradual awakening to a new way of living and a new outlook on life, and then comes bad news: Due to security concerns and regional politics, the Baraka program is suspended, and the boys must return to the bleakness of Baltimore. Have they changed for good? Will they find a way to earn their diplomas and have hope for their futures? The Boys of Baraka offers no easy answers, but in showing us a glimmer of hope against all odds, the film gains depth and power with a conditional happy ending. Uncertainty remains, but so does a palpable sense of achievement and self-improvement that could, on a grander scale of government and societal support, lead to a positive revolution in our school system, which currently offers a depressing shortage of options for our most underprivileged citizens. Without forcing its uplifting message, this exceptional documentary offers proof of a better way, if only enough people would step up and support it. --Jeff Shannon

Lorraine Ali, Newsweek
"An emotionally charged and beautifully made film that is filled with despair and hope."

Stephen Holden, The New York Times
"Inspirational. Rich. Poignant."

Customer Reviews

A Must See!!!!
This film is a gripping true life portrait of the path poverty takes when it (poverty) decides to destroy life and hurt those who cannot defeat its ties of depression.

One of the strongest film ever seen!!! A must see

~A Must See Film!~
"The Boys of Baraka", what an inspirational movie. This is a movie that I

could watch over and over again. It is funny and very interesting. It's

based on a group of pre-teens and teens (12-13) who have the opportunity

of coming from a harsh and rough life in Baltimore, Maryland to a strict

school in Kenya where they not only get there education but the also talk

through conflicts instead of solving them with violence.

The boys are given a second chance into bettering their lives outside of

Maryland by being able to spend two years of their lives in East Africa,

Kenya at a school called, "Baraka School".


There's a boy named Richard, who is 13 years old who is determined to

make a better life for himself. He is a strong young black male who knows

whats best for him and his younger brother Romesh whos us 12 years old.

He is determined to do whatever he has to do to be a better person.

There is also another young black male by the name of Devon who is an

inspiration that I admire because he loves to preach and have dreams

about becoming a pastor one day. Even though his mother is struggling

from abusing drugs, that's not going to stop this young inspiration from

achieving his dream.


As they are living in Kenya the boys really don't like it because they

start missing their families and because they brought their lifestyles

from Baltimore to Kenya which makes it hard. Not only are the

disrespecting each other but themeselves also.

At then end of this movie the boys are sent home after the completion of

their first year for summer vacation. At the ending of their summer

vaction the boys are told that they will not be returning to Kenya

because of the war that has begun. The boys are devastated and angry.

This movie is good for the whole family to watch. It's something you can

relate to or it may remind you of someone you know and if it does

encourage them to watch this inspirational film. ~Sabrina Staples~

Shedding light on a big problem...
This documentary opens with a stunning fact: In Baltimore, MD, 76% of African-American boys don't graduate from high school. The film focuses on a glimmer of hope: The Baraka School. The boarding school, located in Kenya, takes in twenty "at-risk" kids for two years.

I hate using the terms "at-risk" or "troubled," because none of the children portrayed in the film are that. Devon, 12, wants to be a preacher. Montrey, also 12, wants to be a scientist. They aren't bad apples. They're ambitious kids growing up in a bad environment. They don't have a lot of chances, and it seems like everyone has given up on them - parents, teachers, and people in the community.

So it's amazing to see what they can do when they're given a chance. And their time Baraka School is just that. During the middle of the film, the principal asks the boys how many of them want to graduate from the high school of their choice. They all raise their hands. She explains to them that that's what everyone at the school wants for them as well, and they have no reason to fail.

The school is strict. During a language class, one of the boys threatens another, and is asked to leave class. If anyone fails a class, they're immediately sent back to Baltimore.

The school is also a little unconventional. The counselors constantly encourage the boys to talk through conflicts instead of solving them with violence, and they're encouraged to talk about their problems. In perhaps one of the best scenes in the movie, two boys who were in a fist fight are taken away from the school and given a tent. It's about an hour before sunset, and they're told they have to work together to assemble it before they can leave.

There are a couple of things that annoyed me about the movie, however. Occasionally, the boys are subtitled, which I found a little unnecessary. I didn't have a hard time understanding them at all. Also, it doesn't really have a coherent, linear story line. There's a lot going on all at once.

However, it's a very powerful film. As Roger Ebert said, "Here is a movie that makes you want to do something." It makes the point that there are a lot of children we're failing. They need guidance and structure and they aren't getting it. But it's encouraging to see just how tenacious they are, and to see some of them start to reach their goals. It give you hope for the future.