The Boys of Baraka (2005)

Directors:

Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Four 12-year-old black boys from one of the most violent ghettos in Baltimore, Maryland, are taken 10,000...

Plot Keywords:

Baltimore Maryland | African American | Urban | Education

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Devon Brown	...	Himself
Darius Chambers	...	Himself
Richard Keyser	...	Himself
Justin Mackall	...	Himself
Montrey Moore	...	Himself
Romesh Vance	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Loki Films

Soundtrack:

Climbing Mt. Kenya

An engrossing account of a year spent at a Kenyan boarding school by 11- and 12-year-old boys from a crime-ridden Baltimore neighborhood.

I saw this film at the SXSW 2005 film festival where it won the Special Jury prize and was the runner-up audience favorite. It's a powerful emotionally involving film that should reach a wide audience. The skill of the filmmakers is most evident as you say to yourself over and over, "how could they have gotten that on film? Don't these people see the camera watching them?" Beautifully shot with a tremendous amount of heart, it's the first documentary (non-Holocaust-related) I've seen that had grown men in the audience with tears in their eyes. It contains both hope and despair, and makes you feel strongly that this shouldn't be happening in the United States of America. As soon as you have the chance, go and see it.