Homeroom (2021 film)

Last updated
Homeroom
Homeroom Sundance poster 2021.png
Poster
Directed by Peter Nicks
Story byPeter Nicks
Sean Havey
Kristina Motwani
Produced bySean Havey
Peter Nicks
CinematographySean Havey
Edited byRebecca Adorno
Kristina Motwani
Music byMike Tuccillo
Production
companies
Concordia Studio
XTR
Open'hood
Distributed by Hulu
Release dates
  • January 29, 2021 (2021-01-29)(Sundance)
  • August 12, 2021 (2021-08-12)(United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Homeroom is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Peter Nicks. [1] The film, which is the final chapter of Nicks' Oakland trilogy (following The Waiting Room and The Force ), follows the lives of the Oakland High School class of 2020 as they try to make the most of their final year in high school amidst district budget cuts and ultimately the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests. Ryan Coogler and Davis Guggenheim, the latter of whom made a similar film, Waiting for "Superman" , were executive producers on this film. [2] [3]

Contents

The film was premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021, where it was the inaugural winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award - U.S. Documentary. It was released on Hulu on August 12, 2021. [4]

Synopsis

The film follows the students of Oakland High School's Class of 2020 as they face an unprecedented year. Anxiety over test scores and college applications is giving way to uncertainty over a rapidly developing pandemic.

Release

The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021. On April 20, 2021, Hulu acquired the film's U.S. distribution rights and set it for an August 12, 2021 release. [5]

Reception

Critical response

The review round-up at Rotten Tomatoes for Homeroom had 85% of critics recommending the film, based on 47 reviews and an average rating of 7 out of 10. The critics consensus reads: "Homeroom offers an encouraging -- and engaging -- look at young people preparing to leave high school behind and shape the future." [6] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generaly favourable reviews". [7] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "You don't need heavy-handed foreshadowing to know that the class of 2020 is the COVID Class, to realize that the prom the bright-faced teens are looking forward to will never happen, that the graduation they're aiming for will be virtual, that the production of In the Heights scheduled to open on March 20 is never going to see its curtain raised. Homeroom is, in that sense, an inspiring tragedy, a portrait of resilient youth in unprecedented circumstances, the sort of thing that hasn't yet oversaturated Sundance, but probably eventually will. [8]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote:

"Nicks takes a verité approach to his subject, documenting students through the ups and downs of their final year in high school at a distance, letting them tell their own stories. The focus of the first half falls on a debate that would echo “Defund the Police” months later as students and community members fight the board about removing police officers from Oakland High School. Like a bit too much of “Homeroom,” I could have watched these board meetings for hours, Wiseman-style. The debate over adults who think that officers keep their kids safe opposite students telling them that uniforms don’t equal safety for a lot of young people is fascinating. And it’s wonderful to hear these young people discuss their concerns so openly, even if a lot of them seem to often fall on deaf ears." [9]

Lisa Kennedy of Variety wrote:

"The Oakland students — and director Nicks — rise to the demands of overlapping crises. With its vibrant if abbreviated portraits and final scenes of burgeoning activism, “Homeroom” suggest that kids may not be alright, but they are very much on the case." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Waiting for "Superman"</i> 2010 American film

Waiting for "Superman" is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott. The film criticizes the American public education system by following several students as they strive to be accepted into competitive charter schools such as KIPP LA Schools, Harlem Success Academy and Summit Preparatory Charter High School.

Peter Olivera Nicks is an American film director, producer and writer. He began his career in television and served as co-producer and editor of the 2006 episode "Blame Somebody Else" of PBS series AIR: America's Investigative Reports. The episode received an Emmy Award in 2007 for Outstanding Feature Story in a News Magazine, for its exposure of the pipeline of illegal labor human trafficking during the Iraq War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Coogler</span> American filmmaker (born 1986)

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

<i>(T)error</i> 2015 American film

(T)error – stylized as (T)ERROR – is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe. The film follows undercover FBI informant Saeed "Shariff" Torres as he engages in a sting operation targeting a Muslim man named Khalifah Ali Al-Akili as well as Tarik Shah. The film won the Special Jury Award for Breakout First Feature at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered.

<i>Step</i> (film) 2017 American film

Step is a 2017 American documentary film directed by Amanda Lipitz, focusing on a girls' Baltimore high school dance team. It won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2017 AFI Docs Festival. It was released in theaters on August 4, 2017.

<i>Fyre Fraud</i> Film

Fyre Fraud is a 2019 American documentary film about the fraudulent Fyre Festival, a 2017 music festival in the Bahamas. It was directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, and premiered on January 14, 2019, on Hulu.

<i>Untouchable</i> (2019 film) Documentary about sexual allegations of Harvey Weinstein

Untouchable is a 2019 British documentary film about film producer Harvey Weinstein and the sexual abuse allegations that involve him. It was directed by Ursula Macfarlane.

<i>Feels Good Man</i> 2020 US documentary film

Feels Good Man is a 2020 American documentary film about the Internet meme Pepe the Frog. Marking the directorial debut of Arthur Jones, the film stars artist Matt Furie, the creator of Pepe. The film follows Furie as he struggles to reclaim control of Pepe from members of the alt-right who have co-opted the image for their own purposes. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker. It was also nominated in the U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance. Sometime in the 2020s, ranging from 2023 to 2024, the film was added to FAST service Pluto TV in Canada.

<i>Some Kind of Heaven</i> 2020 American documentary film

Some Kind of Heaven is a 2020 American documentary film about The Villages, Florida, the world's largest retirement community. Marking the directorial feature debut of Lance Oppenheim, the film is a stylized portrait of four residents living within The Villages, struggling to find happiness and meaning in life's final chapters. The film, produced by Darren Aronofsky, The New York Times, and Los Angeles Media Fund premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was the sole documentary to play in the NEXT section, a category known for "pure, bold works distinguished by innovative, forward-thinking approach[es] to storytelling". It was released in theaters and on-demand in the United States on January 15, 2021, by Magnolia Pictures.

<i>Giving Voice</i> 2020 documentary film

Giving Voice is a 2020 American documentary film, directed and produced by James D. Stern and Fernando Villena. The film follows the 2018 edition of the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition entered by thousands of high school students for the opportunity to perform on Broadway. Viola Davis, John Legend, Constanza Romero and Nicholas Caprio serve as executive producers.

<i>Notturno</i> (film) 2020 documentary film

Notturno is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Gianfranco Rosi. It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 8 September 2020. It was selected as the Italian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

City So Real is an American documentary miniseries directed by Steve James, revolving around the 2019 mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval following the murder of George Floyd. It consists of 5 episodes and premiered on October 29, 2020, on National Geographic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Sundance Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray Theatre in Park City, with screenings held online as well as on screens and drive-ins in 24 states and territories across the United States.

<i>Us Kids</i> 2020 film

Us Kids is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Kim A. Snyder, following members of the March for Our Lives movement after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.

<i>Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street</i> 2021 American documentary film

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Based on the non-fiction book Street Gang by Michael Davis, the film chronicles the development and airing of the children's television program Sesame Street, featuring interviews with series creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, as well as writers, actors, and artists involved in its creation.

XTR is an American independent film production company founded in 2019 by Bryn Mooser. The company is best known for producing films Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020), Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), The Fight (2020), 76 Days (2020), and Ascension (2021).

<i>Pahokee</i> (film) 2019 American film

Pahokee is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan about the small rural town of Pahokee located in the Florida Everglades. The film uses an observational approach to follow four teenagers as they navigate their senior year of high school. The film premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival and internationally at Visions du Réel in Switzerland.

<i>We Met in Virtual Reality</i> 2022 documentary

We Met in Virtual Reality is a 2022 documentary film that takes place entirely within the video game VRChat. It explores the social relations developed by the users of VRChat during the pandemic, and how their lives were changed by their time on the platform. It was created by Joe Hunting, who was the director and writer of the script.

<i>Stephen Curry: Underrated</i> 2023 documentary by Peter Nicks

Stephen Curry: Underrated is a 2023 American sports documentary film about basketball player Stephen Curry. The film was directed by Peter Nicks, and it premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters and on Apple TV+ on July 21, 2023.

<i>Torn</i> (2021 film) 2021 American documentary film by Max Lowe

Torn is a 2021 American documentary film by photographer and explorer Max Lowe, son of the late climber Alex Lowe, who explored his father's high-profile mountain climbing death on the Himalayan peak, Mount Shishapangma, in 1999. His body was discovered in 2016, 17 years after his death. The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival and was released in the US on December 3, 2021. National Geographic Documentary Films produced the film in partnership with Lightbox.

References

  1. ↑ "Homeroom". Sundance. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ Ehrlich, David (January 29, 2021). "'Homeroom' Review: Peter Nicks' Doc Trilogy on Oakland's Public Institutions Ends on a Personal Note". IndieWire. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  3. ↑ Carey, Matthew (January 29, 2021). "'Homeroom' Clip: Sundance Doc Follows Oakland High School Seniors In Tumultuous Year". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Puerto Rican Rebecca Adorno Wins Sundance's Inaugural Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award". Cinema Tropical. 2 February 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  5. ↑ "'Homeroom' Trailer: Peter Nicks' Trilogy-Ending Documentary from EP Ryan Coogler for Hulu". 20 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Homeroom (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  7. ↑ "Homeroom". Metacritic .
  8. ↑ Fienberg, David (January 29, 2021). "'Homeroom': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  9. ↑ Tallerico, Brian (January 31, 2021). "Sundance 2021: Try Harder!, Homeroom, At the Ready". Roger Ebert. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kennedy, Lisa (February 9, 2021). "'Homeroom' Review: Doc Embeds Itself in Bay Area High School During Exceptional Year". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.