Black Out

Schoolchildren in Guinea are willing to make enormous sacrifices for their education in hopes of escaping the circumstances of their parents. Determined to do well on their exams but lacking electricity at home, many young students walk miles to study beneath the glow of parking lot, airport, and gas station lights. Eva Weber's incredibly photographed film explores these surreal images of students who hit the books not in the quiet and comfort of a library but on the cold pavement of bizarre and makeshift urban study halls. More personally, Weber documents the hopes and circumstances of several individual children and the teacher who does his best to support their efforts. These accounts also reveal the danger of this nightly pilgrimage, which may or may not ultimately lead to a better life. (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival)