LITTLE ROCK — The Lottery, Madeline Sackler’s documentary about four children hopeful of winning - through a random drawing - admission into one of the elite public charter schools in New York’s Harlem neighborhood will screen on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Malco Theater, 817 Central Ave. in Hot Springs as part of the Hot Springs Film Festival.
Sackler’s film focuses especially on the Harlem Success Academy, a charter school founded by Eva Moskowitz, a former New York City councilman, and on the work of educator Geoffrey Canada - who is the de facto star of Davis Guggenheim’s similar,larger-budgeted documentary Waiting for “Superman,” which is now playing in area theaters.
Sackler’s film argues that getting into one of these charter schools (where standards are higher and teachers are better compensated) can almost guarantee academic success. Meanwhile, 19 of the 23 noncharter public schools in Harlem have fewer than half of their students reading at grade level. And so demand is high - typically there are more than six applicants for every spot.
The Lottery, which is also now available on DVD, has a running time of 81 minutes and is not rated. Admission to individual films at the festival is $5.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 10/23/2010