Slowhand Releasing and Dinosaurs Of The Future present The Providence Effect, opening on Friday, October 16 at Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco, and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.
Paul J. Adams III, an African-American man with activist roots in the 1960's civil rights movement, came from a family of teachers. After being blacklisted himself as a teacher in Alabama because of his civil rights activities, he moved to Chicago, received a master's degree in psychology, and then landed a job as guidance counselor at Providence St. Mel, an all-black parochial school on Chicago's notorious drug-ridden, gang-ruled West Side. Adams later became its principal, saved it from closure and converted it to a not-for-profit independent school. He then set about achieving a new goal: To turn Providence St. Mel into a first rank college preparatory school, and its African-American student body into a corps of driven, disciplined, high-achieving students. That was over 30 years ago. Since then, 100% of Providence St. Mel graduates have been accepted to college, half of them, during the last seven years, to first tier and Ivy League colleges and universities. With an "old school" approach to learning—"Do the work"—and a dedicated corps of teachers and administrators, Providence St. Mel offers the kind of student performance that America seeks for all its children, especially those trapped in the cycle of poverty and despair. Directed by Rollin Binzer.
“The film is based on the American Dream. The Effect is that education is really what makes us equal in America.” - California State Senator Gloria Romero
For more information, visit www.providenceeffect.org.
