Fly By Light

Ellie Walton's documentary celebrates the Fly By Light program, which aims to empower, engage, and enlighten at-risk high school students in Washington, D.C. As part of the program, the young participants are taken on a week-long outing in the West Virginia woods, where they engage in a series of educational and physical exercises designed to unleash their creative talents. The students are all inner-city African Americans from difficult family situations, and none have previous experiences away from their urban upbringing. The shift from a city to a forest environment helps them to see a wider world and their place therein. Unfortunately, while the film seeks to call attention to the power of nature, much of what happens on camera does not seem very natural. Indeed, a lot of Fly By Light has the processed and too-tidy personality of second-tier reality television, especially the seemingly endless camera confessions and supposedly spontaneous actions that feel staged. The problem lies not with the kids, who come across as intelligent and often artistically talented, but rather with the filmmaking, which feels mores synthetic than authentic. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)