
Independent Lens
Three Chaplains
Three Muslim chaplains aim to make change in one of America’s most powerful institutions—the military. For them, the fight for equality and religious freedom begins on the inside.
Located in an impoverished Mojave Desert community, Black Rock Continuation High School is an alternative school for students at risk of dropping out; Black Rock is their last chance. Extraordinary educators believe that empathy and life skills, more than academics, give these underserved students command of their own futures.
Lou Pepe directs both documentary and fiction films, among them Lost in La Mancha, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary and winner of the Evening Standard’s Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy; Brothers of the Head, winner of the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature; and Malkovich’s Mail, an original documentary special for… Show more
Keith Fulton directs both documentary and fiction films, among them Lost in La Mancha, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary and winner of the Evening Standard’s Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy; Brothers of the Head, winner of the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature; and Malkovich’s Mail, an original documentary special… Show more
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On any day at Black Rock High, "Pomp and Circumstance" might echo in the hallway, and a new graduate will march through a column of cheering kids whose pride and camaraderie are more than palpable. A diploma here is a momentous achievement. Principal Vonda Viland runs Black Rock Continuation High like a one-room schoolhouse. She knows the names and lives of each of her students and coaches them tirelessly through every stage of their journey. She doesn’t foster false hopes or dreams of unlikely riches. Her philosophy embodies empathy and realism, and given Black Rock’s rising graduation rate, it seems to be working. Her students' lives run the gamut of tragedy: unwanted pregnancies, abuse, homelessness; and unlike other teenagers, they view their high school education as a critical second chance. Most have been deprived of parental love and support, but the attention they receive at Black Rock motivates them to earn their diplomas and begin responsible lives.
The Bad Kids is a day-to-day portrait of Viland’s work and the journeys of several of her students towards graduation and an uncertain future. It is not a story of triumph against all odds — because this isn’t the reality of these students' lives or expectations — but a story of taking achievable steps toward pride and security.
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