Ninos De Esperanza: Children Of Hope

Ninos de Esperanza is a generally unremarkable film about a rather remarkable grassroots development project. In the late 1980's, the Americas Foundation, a social action organization working within immigrant communities in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico, undertook the construction of a model elementary school. Relying primarily on American and community volunteers--artists, architects, builders, and teachers--and fiscal support from a broad base of individual and institutional donors, the Foundation undertook the construction of a school vibrant with color, texture, and playful space. More than simply creating a beautiful oasis for learning, an attempt was made to develop the school into a cultural and political center which would serve as a catalyst for community self-determination and hope. Unfortunately, the uniformly up-beat and idealistic discussions of the project by project members leave a number of questions unanswered. It would, for example, have been interesting to venture further out into the colony to obtain the views of community members (if it's such a revitalizing force in the community, why are the outside walls of the school splattered with graffiti?). An overview of broader social and political initiatives taking place in the community would have also been useful. But perhaps most notably missing are interviews with the ninos themselves--an odd oversight. While this might be a useful video for spurring focused discussions in academic courses on Third World development, education, or city and regional planning, the fairly high price and specialized subject matter would seem to make it a low priority acquisition for most collections. Aud: H, C, P. (G. Handman)