The Lottery Debuts Trailer and Website Today

Run, don't walk, to watch the two-minute trailer for the new documentary, The Lottery, which looks AMAZING: http://thelotteryfilm.com (it will be out on May 7^th).  The filmmaker, Madeleine Sackler (who's been on this email list for nearly two years), profiles four families that try to win the lottery to get into one of the Harlem Success Charter Schools, and talks to all the right people.  Here's a summary from the press release (below):

The Lottery follows four families as they flee their assigned public schools and enter a high stakes and low odds lottery for acceptance into a Harlem charter school. A heartbreaking look at parents who will not accept failing schools for their children but may have to, The Lottery exposes the backwards politics and nefarious agendas of politicians and special interest groups who stand in the way of improving a failing public school system. New York State's recent loss of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Race to the Top Fund is just one example.

One only needs to read today's headlines to see the volatility of this issue and its impact on children. In fact, yesterday Mayor Mike Bloomberg issued the following quote about Albany's maelstrom: "Dr. King told us that a right delayed is a right denied, and this Assembly bill would continue to deny those children the quality school options that they deserve. The bill really is an insult to parents and children and Dr. King and his legacy." "I wanted to show that we do not have to accept failure, because some schools are proving that all kids can succeed if given the chance. Parents know the difference and apply in droves to the better schools. The tragedy is that the demands of adults are getting in the way of the needs of kids," said Sackler.

"Where you're born is a lottery. Going to a great school shouldn't be." Interviewees of the film include Mayor Cory Booker, Chancellor Joel Klein, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, Harlem Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz, Harlem Children's Zone President and CEO Geoffrey Canada, Achievement First co-CEO Dacia Toll, and New York Times Magazine editor Paul Tough.

Be sure to take a few seconds to sign The Education Constitution: http://thelotteryfilm.com/homepage/petition

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New Film to Spotlight Fight over NYC Schools The Lottery Debuts Trailer and Website Today

By: Business Wire | 19 Jan 2010 | 01:57 PM ET

NEW YORK, Jan 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Lottery, a suspenseful and emotional film about the crisis in public education by producer-director Madeleine Sackler, will have a theatrical release beginning May 7, 2010 through Zipline Entertainment, but is debuting its trailer and public education advocacy website today.

http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100119007274&newsLang=en