Synopsis

Spanning thirteen years, American Promise follows Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents and filmmakers in Brooklyn, New York, as they turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun (of T&T parentage), who make their way through one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys’ divergent paths from kindergarten through high school, this provocative, intimate documentary presents complicated truths about America’s struggle to come of age on issues of race, class and opportunity.

Details

(135mins) | United States of America

Language:

English

Production

Directors:

Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

Joe Brewster and his partner, Michèle Stephenson, have produced and directed award-winning feature documentaries and narrative films. Brewster, a Harvard- and Stanford-educated psychiatrist, moved to New York City in 1985 to pursue media studies in the service of social change. In 1996, he wrote and directed The Keeper, which was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival.