INTELLIGENT LIVES follows three young adults with intellectual disabilities: Micah, Naieer and Naomie, who, with the support of family, educators and colleagues, work toward a future marked with increased inclusion and independence. Their lives challenge staid notions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college and the workforce. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, Chris Cooper.

CLASS OF ’27 filmmaker Dustinn Craig, a member of the White Mountain Apache and Navajo tribes, speaks about the unexpected in documenting the White Earth Nation community. What Craig finds is both personal and inspiring; the type of early childhood education taught allows the young children to learn and be who they are as well as have dreams for the future.

New York University Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa discusses the poverty statistics in the United States and the impact of poverty-associated hunger on the development of young children. Yoshikawa, who is a developmental and community psychologist, also affirms the positive effects of early education and code switching in the context of the documentary CLASS OF ’27.

A behind-the-story of documentary triptych CLASS OF ’27 with James Rutenbeck (“Class of ’27”), Dustinn Craig (“Little Dream Catchers”) and Nina Alvarez (“Fields of Promise”). The filmmakers reflect upon their experiences of documenting these hopeful stories of parents, teachers and the next generation in a film that threads together the necessity of investing in our future citizens’ education.

With local employment largely limited to the school system in Booneville, Kentucky, preschool children have caring and competent adults preparing them for better futures. “I’m getting them ready for kindergarten,” says Betsy Coomer, an early education teacher. At the same time, Cleda Turner organizes food packets for hungry children to take home for the weekend. “Class of ’27” by James Rutenbeck.

With local employment largely limited to the school system in Booneville, Kentucky, preschool children have caring and competent adults preparing them for better futures. “I’m getting them ready for kindergarten,” says Betsy Coomer, an early education teacher. At the same time, Cleda Turner organizes food packets for hungry children to take home for the weekend. “Class of ’27” by James Rutenbeck.

White Earth Nation preschoolers in Minnesota learn school readiness while engaging in tribal rituals to prepare for kindergarten with a sense of identity. Former Tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor sums up the mission of White Earth early education as “a lifetime of choices instead of a lifetime of choices instead of a lifetime of circumstances.” “Little Dream Catchers” by Dustinn Craig.

White Earth Nation preschoolers in Minnesota learn school readiness while engaging in tribal rituals to prepare for kindergarten with a sense of identity. Former Tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor sums up the mission of White Earth early education as “a lifetime of choices instead of a lifetime of choices instead of a lifetime of circumstances.” “Little Dream Catchers” by Dustinn Craig.

Follow preschooler Mireya from Fresno, California, to Oregon’s Willamette Valley for berry season. Mireya’s parents, migrant workers who speak Spanish and Mixteco at home, face long work days. They enroll her in Migrant Head Start where bilingual teacher, Aimee Brown, makes it a warm and engaging academic experience that includes meals and outdoor play. “Fields of Promise” by Nina Alvarez.

Follow preschooler Mireya from Fresno, California, to Oregon’s Willamette Valley for berry season. Mireya’s parents, migrant workers who speak Spanish and Mixteco at home, face long work days. They enroll her in Migrant Head Start where bilingual teacher, Aimee Brown, makes it a warm and engaging academic experience that includes meals and outdoor play. “Fields of Promise” by Nina Alvarez.

In rural America, children face the prospect of a compromised future. Class of ’27 focuses on early childhood education in struggling communities, highlighting the efforts of people guiding children toward graduating high school in ’27. United by hope, inspiration and resiliency, the film shows that children are most likely to grow into productive adults if they receive support in the early years.

CLASS OF ’27 filmmaker Nina Alvarez speaks about migrant workers challenged by limitations but nonetheless are raising young children to see no limitations. From Fresno, California to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Alvarez follows the parents into the fields and the children to a specialized Head Start program, where they are given the keys to succeed.

“Class of ’27” filmmaker James Rutenbeck speaks about exploring a pocket of rural America in Owsley County, Kentucky. The executive producer discovers a welcoming community where poverty and addiction has impacted three generations: grandparents, parents and children. But the love of the people leads to the hope within this story.

“In life you deal with what’s dealt your way. When you get knocked down, just get up right away. Never give up.” “In the Game” follows a girls’ soccer team in an inner-city Chicago high school to reveal the obstacles confronted by Latinas as they seek an education amid issues of class and gender in the working class Brighton Park neighborhood.

Although medical interventions have kept him alive well beyond his prognosis of cystic fibrosis, 28-year-old Ethan Rice and his family live in constant uncertainty and everyday question how long they can go on fighting. In a culture that often looks away from death, EXIT MUSIC explores the intimate and complex path of terminal illness. What will Ethan’s absence mean to those he leaves behind?

This May on America ReFramed: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Featuring the documentaries 9-MAN, WINNING GIRL and CAMBODIAN SON on the series America ReFramed.

Leaving politics aside, Rodrigo Reyes’ Purgatorio looks anew at the U.S./Mexico border and the people caught in its spell. The evocative Dantesque essay film presents the border as a mythical place exploring the vulnerability of the human soul, the violence man creates and the destruction left in its wake.

Allison Orr found inspiration in the movement of garbage trucks and graceful dynamics of the workers who operate them. She transforms the skepticism and reluctance of her subjects into a complete commitment to dance. On an abandoned runway, the sanitation professionals and their trucks perform a stunning spectacle, awing an audience of thousands.

Chronicling the ongoing conflict over the issue of tribal rights between the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Freedmen, descendants of African American slaves. “By Blood” explores a largely untold history and the impact of a battle over race, identity, and the sovereign rights of Native American people.

Chronicling the ongoing conflict over the issue of tribal rights between the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Freedmen, descendants of African American slaves. “By Blood” explores a largely untold history and the impact of a battle over race, identity, and the sovereign rights of Native American people.

Today, the Inupiaq Eskimo must navigate an uncertain future 80 miles above the Arctic Circle on a fragile barrier island disappearing due to climate change. “Kivalina” is a quiet but stirring portrait immersing viewers into the rarely seen lives of an Arctic tribe who try to continue to honor their way of life despite the government failing them.

Today, the Inupiaq Eskimo must navigate an uncertain future 80 miles above the Arctic Circle on a fragile barrier island disappearing due to climate change. “Kivalina” is a quiet but stirring portrait immersing viewers into the rarely seen lives of an Arctic tribe who try to continue to honor their way of life despite the government failing them.

Created by largely Puerto Rican, Cuban and African American youths living alongside each other in the 1960s, Boogaloo served as an authentic and vibrant cultural expression. “We Like It Like That” explores a pivotal moment in ’60s music history when blues, funk and traditional Caribbean rhythms were fused to define a new generation of urban Latinos.

“In life you deal with what’s dealt your way. When you get knocked down, just get up right away. Never give up.” “In the Game” follows a girls’ soccer team in an inner-city Chicago high school to reveal the obstacles confronted by Latinas as they seek an education amid issues of class and gender in the working class Brighton Park neighborhood.