The First Grader

Sep 12, 2010

1h 43m

★ 7.1

It's never too late to dream.

Overview

The true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.

Genres

Drama

History

Romance

Production Companies

Sixth Sense Productions

BBC Film

UK Film Council

Videovision Entertainment

Lipsync Productions

ARTE

Big Boy Films

Origin Pictures

The First Grader Trailers

Cast

Jane Obinchu

Naomie Harris

Charles Obinchu

Tony Kgoroge

Officer Johnson

Nick Reding

Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge

Oliver Litondo

Alfred Munyua

Kamau Chege

Kamau Mbaya

In 1970s Britain, 18-year old Dean feels hampered by his working-class background and his family. In order to make something of himself, he assumes another identity and manages to enter high society. Uses a unique projection technique that displays three side-by-side frames of nearly simultaneous action, giving the impression of simultaneous events, rather than a multi-camera recording. This innovative "three-camera" or triple-image effect was an "almost innovation" for the time, offering a novel cinematic experience alongside the film's compelling story and strong direction.

4.6

Still Green

May 15, 2009

The summer of their senior year, ten best friends rent a beach house for one last week before separating for college. A tragic accident in the ocean changes and tests their friendship. In this dark teen drama, everything can change in an instant.

4.1

Stranger Inside

Jun 23, 2001

After a stint in a juvenile detention center, Treasure is transferred to an adult prison where her mother, whom she has never met, is also imprisoned. Before long, Treasure encounters Brownie, a lifer and gang leader. Brownie reveals that she is Treasure's mother, and takes the girl under her wing, protecting her from the dangers of hardcore prison life. But some women in Brownie's gang resent Treasure's presence, leading to violent conflict.

6.7

The Deal

Sep 28, 2003

It is approaching an election in the UK when the leader of the Labour party, John Smith, suffers another in a line of heart attacks and dies. With the leadership campaign about to start the clear choice appears to be Gordon Brown, a stanch Scotsman. However Tony Blair is also beginning to appear more likely as he will appeal to Southern voters who would be turned off by Brown. Blair rings Brown to arrange a meeting to discuss which will go for the job. The film flashbacks to the start of their relationship, sharing an office in Westminster on their first seats.

6.1

The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall

Oct 13, 2008

After Tom Hurndall is shot in the head in Gaza, his parents Anthony and Jocelyn arrive in Israel wanting to know how it could have happened. They expect sympathy and cooperation from the Israeli authorities, but are instead met with an official explanation that fails to tally with any eye-witness accounts, and a wall of silence. When an Israeli army report attempts to whitewash the incident, the Hurndalls decide the only way to establish the truth is to launch their own investigation into the shooting, a process which brings them face to face with both the Open-Fire regulations of the Israeli army in Gaza, and the soldier who pulled the trigger.

3.0

Fabled

Aug 17, 2002

Joseph just broke up with his girlfriend and is not taking it very well. He thinks she is plotting against him with their mutual psychiatrist. His dog is missing and he suspects the people at work might be behind it. Then there is the unshakable guilt over his past. It just might all be bearable, somehow possible to live through, if it weren't for those damned 'monsters' that keep trying to kill him. Through an allegorical 'fable' that is told in parallel with Joseph's struggle, we are left to decide for ourselves in the end, who is the crow and who is the wolf., was someone out to get Joseph, was it a stroke of bad luck, or was it all in his head?

5.9

Under the Yum-Yum Tree

Oct 23, 1963

A love-struck landlord tries to convince a pretty tenant to dump her fiancé and give him a chance.

5.1

Creature from Black Lake

Mar 1, 1976

Some fishermen are attacked in the Louisiana swamps. When the word gets out of a mysterious Bigfoot-type creature, two researchers come to a small town to study and hopefully discover what the beast is. Their research from some farmers help the two men to learn that the creature may be a very angry and murderous missing link.

5.0

Little Men

Jan 1, 1934

The former Jo March and her husband Professor Bhaer operate the Plumfield School for homeless boys. One of the boys, Nat, invites Dan, a street kid, to come to the school, where the boys are all loved and well cared for. Dan is a young tough, but his heart is good, and when he is accused of theft at the school, Jo continues to believe in him and that the true thief will be found out.

3.0

Broke

Nov 8, 2017

A teenager's millionaire father goes bankrupt, and rumors about the girl's family finances make the school day a painful struggle.

5.5

A Simple Curve

Jan 1, 2005

Caleb is 27, and was raised in the majestic Kootenays by his bush hippie parents. He loves his father Jim and understands his reverence for wood working, coriander and Soya products, but he just doesn't get Jim's determined effort to achieve economic disaster at every turn. His father is a relentlessly unsuccessful business man, and as the junior partner in their carpentry shop, Caleb is powerless to stop the fiscal self sabotage. When Matthew, an old friend of Jim's, arrives in the valley to develop a high-end fishing lodge, Caleb sees fortune looming, provided he can keep his father distracted long enough. But a small deception leads to colossal betrayal, and soon Caleb must face the fact that he's reached that treasured day when a boy becomes man enough to tell his father get lost.

6.0

Deserted Station

Feb 1, 2002

On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a nearby village and encounters a teacher who offers to help. Whilst the husband and teacher go off to find a spare part, the wife, who used to be a teacher, takes over the teaching lessons in the village. It is clear that the children live there, in this strange deserted place, without any men, save the teacher and an old signal guard. As the day draws on, the children help to bring a new hope and life into the wife's heart.

5.4

The Captain's Paradise

Jun 9, 1953

Mediterranean ferryboat captain Henry St James has things well organized - a loving and very English wife Maud in Gibraltar, and the loving if rather more hot-blooded Mistress, Nita in Tangiers. A perfect life. As long as neither woman decides to follow him to the other port.

6.9

Tom Brown's Schooldays

Apr 17, 1951

When Tom Brown arrives at Rugby boarding school, he’s mercilessly tormented by the school’s evil bully Flashman. With the help of his friend East, plucky Brown devises a plan to get back at Flashman; in the meantime, he’s asked to look out for a timid new student, whose life is accidentally put in peril during a school race.

5.5

Gringuito

Apr 9, 1998

Ivan is a kid whose family decides to go back to Chile from New York, after at least a decade away. Ivan of course is not quite the Chilean kid his grandparents would like him to be: he sulks, misses the Opera, finds things odd and ugly, acting like a real "little gringo" (hence the title).

7.7

Twenty-Four Eyes

Sep 15, 1954

From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.

7.3

Rocketman

May 17, 2019

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.

The First Grader

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The First Grader Trailers