Best of Fest Encore Screening
Stay for an expert panel immediately following the 1:50pm screening on Saturday, April 22nd at The Main Cinema. The 30-minute discussion will explore themes and topics raised in the film.
• Peter Hutchinson, Moderator, served as Superintendent of Schools in Minneapolis
• Bobbie Burnham, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Teaching and Learning, Minnesota Department of Education
• Sondra Samuels, President and CEO, Northside Achievement Zone
This panel discussion was curated by Peter Hutchinson, who has served as commissioner (secretary) of the Minnesota Department of Finance, superintendent of schools in Minneapolis, a deputy mayor, corporate vice president at the Dayton Hudson Corporation (now Target) and as president of the Bush Foundation, one of Minnesota’s largest independent foundations.
About the film
It’s an American civil rights story rarely discussed: the right to read. In Jenny Mackenzie’s startling documentary, she follows an activist and teacher from Oakland and two families from the South who are trying to help children–especially Black and brown kids–to have the skills they need to succeed.
When a child can’t read, their chances of incarceration, homelessness, and unemployment increase. That's why Oakland-based NAACP activist Kareem Weaver believes literacy is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time and is fighting for better reading instruction. “What good is winning the right to vote if we can’t even read the ballot?” Fed up with the bleak reading scores in his own community, Kareem files a petition with the Oakland Unified School District demanding change.
Director Biography
Jenny Mackenzie is a documentary filmmaker with a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Her documentary features include Dying in Vein, the Opiate Generation (2016), Quiet Heroes (2018), However Long (2019), and, her most recent feature documentary, The Right to Read (2023).