UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Class of Her Own,” a Penn State faculty member's critically acclaimed film, recently won its 10th film festival award: "Best Cinematography (Documentary)," from Florida’s Dunedin International Film Festival.
The Dunedin festival also awarded “Class of Her Own" — directed and produced by Boaz Dvir, an associate professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications — a "Best Documentary" Honorary Mention.
The 86-minute film, which has screened as an official selection at more than 20 film festivals around the world, has won "Best Documentary Feature" at the Windsor International Black Film Festival in Canada, Crown Point International Film Festival in Chicago and the Denver Indie Film Festival, as well as "Best Teacher Film" at the Palma Film Festival in Spain and the Helsinki Education Film Festival International in Finland.
The documentary feature tells the story of Gloria Jean Merriex’s transformation into a trailblazing teacher who used hip hop and dance to lead her high-need school from an F to an A on the state standardized state test. It will next screen March 25 at the Puerto Aventuras International Film Festival in Mexico and May 9 at the Miami Beach Film Festival.
In a review posted on its website, the Crown Point Festival wrote: “Indelibly inspiring, compelling in its messages about the state of today’s youth, wholeheartedly immersed in what it is for ONE person to initiate a paradigm shift in educational accomplishment, and simply an illustration of basic human connection, this documentary from writer/director/producer/editor/cinematographer/composer Boaz Dvir … is a 100% A+ effort.”
“Class of Her Own,” which was also produced by Matthew Einstein and Emil Pinnock, is available for free viewing on Amazon Prime, Roku and Tubi.