Director: Kim Longinotto, Photography: Kim Longinotto, Editor: Ollie Huddleston, Sound: Mary Milton, Producer: Kim Longinotto, Co-Producer: Richard Klein, Executive Producer: Roger Graef, Production: Films of Record Production for BBC4
Distribution:
Fortissimo Films
Van Diemenstraat 100
1013 CN Amsterdam
Tel: +31 206 273 215
Fax: +31 206 261 155
Niederlande
info(at)fortissimo.nl
www.fortissimo.nl
First Broadcast: 22. Mai 2008 BBC4
Selected Filmography- Kim Longinotto-Director:
Rock Wives, 1996; Divorce Iranian Style, 1998; Gaea Girls, 2000; The Day I Will Never Forget, 2002; Sisters in Law, 2005
The students throw punches, kicks, and spit. They rail against their teachers using words that make even adults blush. Mulberry Bush School near Oxford is where 5- to 11-year-olds go who would not stand a chance in the regular school system. A staff of 108 takes care of 40 kids here who have suffered severe emotional traumata. Punishment is all but precluded in their work. The adults never raise their voices. Children who burst out violently are only held tight, or caught in a kind of forced hug, until they calm down again. Over the course of several months, documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto ("Sisters in Law") has followed the downright heroic fight of the teachers with her camera. Her film illustrates the stunning success of a method based on communication rather than confrontation.