TOMORROW’S HOPE
In the SXSW22 short film Tomorrow’s Hope, filmmaker Thomas Morgan examines the effect of two foundations for early childhood education on its first-ever class. Educare and The Ounce of Prevention Fund are sound arguments for universal Pre-K. I’m a former preschool teacher who can attest to the impact these years have on the lives of children and their families. Working in a school in the River City Building in downtown Chicago, I taught predominantly Head Start children, giving me a new insight into the socioeconomic disparity in education, not something I had faced growing up in Connecticut.
In Tomorrow’s Hope, we follow three high school seniors and hear their personal stories. We also hear from the administrators and teachers, from then and now. These determined women promised their community safety and a loving environment for their families. They made good on that promise, navigating through gang violence, demolition, and uncertainty. The unadulterated passion of these administrators and teachers pours off the screen.
The graduation rate of the inaugural class at Educare tells you everything you need to know about the importance of early childhood education. It is an unheard-of rate of 100 percent. Every single participant reached high school graduation. Tomorrow’s Hope features families and educators from the school, allowing them to tell their stories in their own words. This film is a forty-minute blueprint for success.
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In college, I used to drive 8 hrs, regularly, in my car to visit a boyfriend. I was alone. I drove straight through pausing only briefly if I saw families at a busy rest stop. But, I was alone. John Hyam’s new film is everything I was afraid of happening to me on those long rides. ALONE is a bonafide nightmare. The genius of this script is its simplicity. The relatively mundane encounters build in the most honest and horrifying way. Jessica does everything right. But, once a serial killer has you in his sites, there is no escape, or so you might think. The pacing is absolutely perfect. The sound editing highlights the isolation that is evident in the natural setting. The soundtrack beating it all into you. All combined you feel like you’re in Jessica’s shoes. ALONE is a stripped-down genre winner.
Jules Willcox is a powerhouse as Jessica. Her vulnerability is so relatable making it easy to root for her survival. This is a power dynamic that shouldn’t exist but women, in particular, are used to dealing with it constantly. With an evergrowing population of “incel’ culture, walking with your keys between your fingers, pretending to be on the phone, parking under a streetlight, are all small steps we take to protect ourselves. Women are often deemed too emotional until we are tested by the unimaginable. ALONE exploits all that ingrained fear and mixes it with grief. Willcox nails this role from every angle. Marc Menchaca does a brilliant job with physicality. He comes off as visually harmless but he is downright scary. Perfectly balancing emotional manipulation with the brute strength of a psychopath, you’ll believe he’s done this before.
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