“Race to Nowhere” is a close-up look at the pressures on today's students, offering a view of lives packed with activities, leaving little room for down-time or family time. Parents are expected to raise high-achieving children, who are good at everything: academics, sports, the arts, community-service. The film tackles the tragic side of our achievement-obsessed culture, with interviews that explore the world of over-burdened schedules, student suicide, and academic cheating. “Race to Nowhere” asks the question: Are the young people of today prepared to step into their future? We hear from students who feel they are being pushed to the brink, educators who worry students aren't learning anything substantive, college professors, and business leaders, concerned their incoming employees lack the skills needed to succeed in the business world: passion, creativity, and internal motivation.
Race to Nowhere
“Race to Nowhere” is a look at today's students' lives, packed with activities and pressure. Confronting our achievement-obsessed culture, the film asks: are they ready to meet their future?
Overview
About
Vicki Abeles is a filmmaker, author, speaker, change agent, and youth advocate. Collectively, her films have inspired numerous communities to overhaul education policies and practices that encumber student health and meaningful learning. A former Wall Street attorney, Abeles turned filmmaker when she noticed that children across the U.S. were struggling with a silent epidemic of school stress. In 2010 she released Race to Nowhere about the undercutting of children's success and followed that up in 2015 with Beyond Measure.
Jessica Congdon is an award-winning film and commercial editor and director. Her most recent work is the Apple TV+ mental health docu-series The Me You Can’t See featuring Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry. She edited the documentary The Way I See It, released by Focus Features in Fall 2020. She has had films premiered at Sundance in 2017, 2015 and 2011, and her films have screened in over 49 countries. She has also done directing work for Google and is a founding member of Umlaut Films in San Francisco. She has been awarded AICE editing awards, the One Show Award, and Cannes Lions awards.
01: Race to Nowhere
“Race to Nowhere” is a close-up look at today's students’ pressure filled lives. The film asks: are the youth of today prepared to meet their future? Hearing from a multitude of viewpoints, parents, teachers, and professionals wonder if students are leaving school with the skills needed to succeed.
86 min
