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TEACHER'S MIDNIGHT

THE COMMUNITY - as PROD / FIN

Drama - Development 2017

The current decade in American history witnessed a stark new chapter of racial injustice. It was borne not by a sudden shift in the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement, but by the number of resultant deaths being broadcast to the world.

- Year of production
- 2017
- Genres
- Drama, True Story
- Countries
- USA
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Budget
- 3 - 5 M$
- Writer(s)
- Elliott LOEWENSTEIN
- Producer(s)
- Jamin O'BRIEN (THE FILM COMMUNITY), Daniel BLANC (THE FILM COMMUNITY)
- Synopsis
- The current decade in American history witnessed a stark new chapter of racial injustice. It was borne not by a sudden shift in the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement, but by the number of resultant deaths being broadcast to the world. Josh Klein is the son of a congressman and a recent Yale graduate. Uneasy with a life of privilege, he enrolls in, Teach for America, a program that engages graduates to work in the nation’s most disadvantaged schools. Josh is placed in the worst of the worst schools in southeast Washington D.C. Unable to maintain control of his classroom, he is weary and all but beaten by the spring
  of his first year when a 2nd grader, Ray Williams, accuses Josh of shoving him, thus causing Ray to fall and hit his head. Josh’s idealism is strung out by the harsh realities of being fired and charged with assaulting a minor. The story of Josh and Ray is based on the real-life events of Josh Kaplowitz and Raynard Ware. Eleven years pass and we pick up with Josh after his acquittal, time in law school, and the use of his father’s influence to promote his career. Josh is now an assistant with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He’s conducting a grand jury investigation of officers John
  Baines and Frank Derringer, two white, hardboiled veterans of the force. What’s at issue are varying perspectives on the arrest of two, black teenage brothers, Jade and Aubrey Bertin. What’s known are broken fragments of body camera footage, and that Aubrey was beaten nearly to death. The debate plays out in the growing unrest of the community, and in Josh’s grand jury convened in reaction to it. Josh is mid-case when Ray reaches out to him via Facebook. Despite the odds and the immediate threats of living in an impoverished neighborhood, Ray’s become an
  academic and an athletic achiever. The unlikely reunion of former teacher and student ignites a suspicious yet growing friendship, one that reminds Josh of his subverted values. As such, Josh takes a harder look at his case, and in so doing elicits not only the ire of those who helped him to climb the ladder of success, but the clear and present danger of being on the wrong side of a cop who will stop at nothing to protect his innocence.
  Amidst the backdrop of racial injustice and the mechanisms of power that protect it, Josh revisits his past and takes his investigation to the streets. Ultimately, he must choose between self-sacrifice and self-aggrandizement, between his ideals and the sphere of influence within which he operates. It is this circle into which Ray breaks, giving Josh a second chance to become the person he once intended, many years ago.