Despite the promise of opportunity, 52% of people aged 16-24 in South Africa are unemployed. Testing Hope is an award winning documentary by Molly Blank which follows four students – Babalwa, Noluyanda, Mongamo and Sipho – at Oscar Mpetha High School in Nyanga township, just outside of Cape Town, as they work towards their crucial Matric exams which one student calls “the decider." The film in not new, but has made significant impact in South Africa, bringing to everyone's attention this deeply important look at education post 1994.
"Director Molly Blank powerfully tells us of the lives of four students and the current conditions of their schools, placing student achievement in light of the country's historical experience with apartheid, against the backdrop of the wide-spread public belief that education can and will bring about social change."
"Testing Hope offers an honest and sincere portrayal of the persistent inequality in under-resourced township schools in contrast with formerly white "model C" schools.Yet, the film is striking not only in its contrasts, but in its questioning of the national embrace of this high stakes assessment."
Carol Ann Spreen, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
Via: Steve Dahlberg
