School of Hope is an intimate and charming portrait of optimism in the harshest of environments. In the vast expanse of desert East of Atlas Mountains in Morocco, seasonal rain and snow once supported livestock, but now the drought seems to never end. Hardly a blade of grass can be seen, and families travel miles on foot to get water from a muddy hole in the ground. Yet the children willingly ride donkeys and bicycles or walk for miles across rocks to a “school of hope” built of clay.
Following both the students and the teachers in the Oulad Boukais Tribe’s community school for over three years, School of Hope shows students Mohamed, Miloud, Fatima, and their classmates, responding with childish glee to the school’s altruistic young teacher, Mohamed. Each child faces individual obstacles - supporting their aging parents; avoiding restrictions from relatives based on traditional gender roles - while their young teacher makes do in a house with no electricity or water.
The Oulad Boukais Tribe is just one of many rural communities around the world struggling to establish adequate schooling for students. School of Hope conveys the passion and commitment of the Oulad Boukais Tribe in securing academic opportunity for their children, despite the roadblocks of their environment and the apparent indifference of their government.
Information
Crew
| Direction |
Mohamed El Aboudi (also scriptwriter) |
| Cinematography |
Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen / Marita Hällfors / Päivi Kettunen |
| Sound recording |
Lou Strömberg / Miki Brunou / Salla Hämäläinen |
| Sound design |
Pietari Koskinen, SoundeFilm |
| Composer |
Richard Horowitz & Andrew Silagy |
| Editing |
Lizi Gelber / Florence Bresson / Mohamed El Aboudi / Mikko Sippola |
| Translation |
Tiina Kinnunen / Maria Pakkala |
| Graphic |
Antti Kangassalo, Farm |
| Production Management |
Oona Saari, Illume / Jenny Timonen, Illume |
| Assistant Editors |
Leo Suonikko / Toni Anttila / Niina Vornanen |
| Digital Post-Production |
Kari Mankinen, TOAST / Veikko Ruuskanen, TOAST / Vesa Vinni, TOAST |
| Co-Producer |
Lamia Chraibi, La Prod / Aimee Link, Vulcan Productions / Hind Saïh, Bellota Films / Dominique Barneaud, Bellota Films |
| Co-Production Manager |
Kim Nyhous, Vulcan Productions / Leila Badet, Bellota Films |
| Production Assistant |
Franqois Giesberger, Bellota Films |
| Post-Production Assistant |
Robin Gaussé, Bellota Films |
| Executive Producers |
Leila Amran, La Prod / Jody Allen, Vulcan Productions / Ruth Johnston, Vulcan Productions / Rocky Collins, Vulcan Productions |
| Associate Producer |
Susan Grella, Vulcan Productions |
| Unit Production Manager |
Lamia Chraibi, La Prod |
| Production Coordinator |
Sophia Menni, La Prod |
| Assistant Director |
Réda Nouiga, La Prod |
| DIT |
Oumaima Tahri, La Prod |
| Sound editor |
Kirsi Korhonen, SoundeFilm |
Screenings and awards
TV-screenings
- 02.05.2021 Yle TV1 11:15am EET
- 29.04.2021 Yle TV1 19pm EET
Festivals
- 10.08.2022 Ecofalante Environmental Film Festival
- 27.07.2022 Jerusalem International Film Festival
- 29.03.2022 FESTIVAL AU CINÉMA POUR LES DROITS HUMAINS 2022
- 13.03.2022 Bellville's Downtown DocFest
- 20.02.2022 Finnagora, Finn Filmnapok Festival
- 04.02.2022 ReFrame
- 25.01.2022 Budapest International Documentary Festival
- 20.01.2022 Auroville Film Festival
- 04.01.2022 Pallavaa International Film Festival (Best Cinematography)
- 11.12.2021 PriMed (Grand Prix & Broadcasting Award)
- 06.12.2021 Cinemamed - Festival du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles
- 28.11.2021 European Film Festival India 2021
- 27.11.2021 Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People (Best Feature Documentary)
- 18.11.2021 Enfances Dans Le Monde
- 16.11.2021 CAISA
- 13.11.2021 Doc.Fest Munchen
- 10.11.2021 Ajyal Film Festival
- 05.11.2021 Carthage Film Festival
- 25.10.2021 Gangneung International Film Festival (GIFF)
- 22.10.2021 Another Way Film Festival
- 05.10.2021 Magnificent7
- 01.10.2021 Afrika Filmfestival (Unesco Comission Prize)
- 01.10.2021 Umundu - Festival Dresden
- 20.09.2021 Nordisk Panorama Film Festival
- 18.09.2021 SILBERSALZ Festival
- 17.09.2021 Human Rights Festival Berlin
- 26.08.2021 APRICOT TREE UJAN International Ethnographic Film Festival
- 25.08.2021 Der Neue Heimatfilm (Special mention)
- 25.08.2021 MakeDox 2021
- 20.08.2021 Dokufest Kosovo
- 13.07.2021 Pärnu Film Festival (Estonian People's Prize)
- 16.06.2021 FIPADOC
- 28.05.2021 Change Now
- 05.05.2021 Millenium International Documentary Film Festival
- 05.05.2021 DOK.fest Munich (SOS-Children Villages Prize)
- 29.04.2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (International Special Jury Prize)
- 14.03.2021 Tampere Film Festival (Special Prize)
- 01.02.2021 DocPoint (Jury's Special Mention)
Production
- Pertti Veijalainen, Illume Oy
