I AM PROMISE: THE CHILDREN OF STANTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Behind the statistics of crime and poverty in America are faces-young faces. Ninety percent of the pre-adolescent kids here in North Philadelphia live, admist gangs, drugs and daily drive-by shootings, in broken families that offer little comfort. Their few, precious years of childhood are a fragile buffer between them and the streets, and that fleeting interval is all the time the teachers have to try and break the cycle of violence and dispair. Filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond take us through a year at Stanton Elementary, where dedicated (but equally frustrated) teachers and staff try to instill in these boys and girls a sense of self-worth, while they can still be reached. A feature of vital urgency for any city with struggling classrooms and an overburdened educational system. Nominated for a Best Feature Documentary Academy Award. Music by Kriss Kross.-Charles Cassady