THE NEW PUBLIC

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This documentary follows Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School through its formative years from 2006, when students were recruited in an open admission policy, to 2010, when it graduated its first class. First-time Principal (and former point guard) Dr. James O’Brien and his eight faculty members have infectious enthusiasm, and their ethos is enticing: to build strong personal relationships with the kids and provide unconventional arts and media electives taught by local artists. Of course honeymoons can’t last forever, and this portrait of a school shows how careful a balance there needs to be between academics, discipline and love. Producer/Director: Jyllian Gunther.