The Boys of Baraka chronicles two years in the lives of a handful ofat-risk 12-year-old boys from the streets of Baltimore. Hand-picked to attend a tiny boarding school in middle-of-nowhere Kenya, the boys begin to thrive as students, thanks to the individual attention given by their tirelessly earnest new mentors. But in a heartbreaking twist, the school is forced to close due to the sketchy political situation in Nairobi; one parent asks why the school closes for unspecific “threats,” when the kid experiences constant threats of drugs and violence on the street at home. Directors Ewing and Grady smartly focus on four boys rather than all 20 (unlike the charming but messy Mad Hot Ballroom), while illuminating the horrific social and educational ills afflicting our inner cities.
Opens November 23
4L's
