Filmmakers Screen Documentary for MLK Assembly
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to the civil rights movement, the Upper School students watched Pahokee, a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, during an assembly on January 17.
The film focused on four seniors and their final year at Pahokee High School, which was settled in one of the poorest towns in Florida. Although life has been difficult for these seniors, they are able to pull themselves together and enjoy every school event and cherish the time they spend with their families. The film depicted many energetic and cheerful events at Pahokee High School, including homecoming election, pep rally, Christmas and Easter celebrations, the parade after the PHS football team won the state championship, prom, and graduation. Just like all the other high school students, these four seniors have to face many challenges such as college applications and finding their future paths. However, in the meantime, they are also taking up more responsibilities than their peers to help support their families. No matter how many difficulties they endured, their positive attitude and confidence towards life persisted, which makes the film uplifting and inspiring.
The directors, Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan, along with two of the seniors in the film, Na’Kerria Nelson and Junior Walker, also attended the film screening and talked to the Benjamin students about their thoughts and ideas. Mr. Bresnan mentioned that one of the reasons he wanted to make the film was to let people understand that even with the social differences, the young people at Pahokee are not different from people living anywhere else.
Students gave positive feedback for this assembly; some had a deep impression of the school spirit of PHS, while others are planning to take action and help the Pahokee community.
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A premier PK3 - Grade 12 independent, coeducational day school with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Since 1960, The Benjamin School has provided a challenging college preparatory education to a diverse student body in a structured, nurturing community environment.