Afghanistan, Cameroon, Serbia, Venezuela – Mr. Zingg’s new students in the Basel integration class have travelled far. Young, and with hopes of a better future, they travelled to Switzerland and now place great hopes in their teacher: he should show them the ways of this new country. The pupils learn the language and culture of Switzerland in just two years. Mr. Zingg, has justy one goal in sight: to help these young traumatized people find a job in their new society. But as the end of their schooling approaches, these young migrants have to ask themselves a harrowing question: is there a place at all for them in this country...?
A portrait of an extraordinary teacher and her class. She teaches children who are disabled, who have learning difficulties, and who are highly gifted together in one classroom. While the school administration worries about if and how a disabled child should be integrated into secondary school, we observe daily life in this exceptional class, where children philosophize about, for example, God and death. A portrait about how the classroom returns to normal by defining new norms. The children do not perceive their divergent abilities as a deficit, but rather as a chance and source of enrichment.
Three intertwined stories about teens, migration and transformation in different parts of the American continent. Maria moves to Montreal from Manila. Her grandmother has Maria’s future all planned out, but she quickly tires of her straight-laced school. Colombian Alex, deported from the United States, is back in the port of Buenaventura, telling tall stories of his gangsta lifestyle in Los Angeles. Local criminals show interest and in no time he has to live up to his reputation. In Mexico City, David moves in with his cousin in a run-down neighbourhood. He finds work and makes new friends in the local punk scene, but his aggressive cousin won’t be happy until David has joined the local gang.
Tue 30.05.2017 | 15:20
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