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Home / Fly By Light (83 Minute Version)

Fly By Light (83 Minute Version)

Maple Leaf This item is only available for Canadian orders.

Catalogue Number:  TVP072
Producer:  Video Project, Inc.
Producing Agencies:  One Common Unity
Subject:  Arts, Character Education, Documentary, Family Studies/Home Economics, Guidance, Health, Psychology, Social Issues, Social Sciences, Sociology
Language:  English
Grade Level:  Post Secondary, Adult
Country Of Origin:  United States
Copyright Year:  2015
Running Time:  83:00


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Fly By Light is an intimate exploration of young people seeking to overcome the violence in their lives and create a new path for their future by connecting to a world outside their neighborhoods.

In Washington, DC, where high school dropout rates average 40%, a group of teenagers participates in an ambitious peace education youth program that takes them out of their tough neighborhoods and into the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. For the first time in their lives, Mark, Asha, Martha, and Corey play in mountain streams, sing under the stars, and confront the entrenched abuse, violence and neglect of their past.

The week-long outing is part of the 9 month Fly By Light program that uses nature immersion, music, art, conflict resolution, and social-emotional learning techniques to help young people overcome the trauma, grief and anger they often hold inside – and that holds them back.

Taken outside their comfort zone, and showered with support from caring mentors, we witness the city walls come down and their full selves emerge, armed with a greater sense of life’s possibilities. The film follows the four as they return home, where each continues over the next year to face different hurdles and roadblocks they must confront to build a better life.

The film provides a window into the immense pain and challenges that many young people carry today, while also showing their incredible capacity for transformation when given the support and tools to better understand themselves and their potential, and to connect with others in a positive way.

Please click here for the 60 minute version of this film.

"Beautifully put together... Using intensive experiences with nature, meditation, mindfulness, and vulnerability, the educators hope to give the teens the tools to break the cycle of poverty and violence. With the right framing and mind-set, this film could be an empathetic look into lives very different from other students’, or a reflection for similar communities that are trying to build anti-violence programming." – School Library Journal

"Highly Recommended. Fly By Light goes beyond similar projects that attempt to connect urban area youth with nature, placing a focus on peace education and music...Walton fairly represents the acceptance and rejection of the program as students are asked to share difficult emotions they typically push down." - Educational Media Reviews Online

"Starred Review. This realistic film helps viewers understand the depth of the problems of urban youth." - Library Journal



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