Justin Chadwick's The First Grader is a heartwarming story of an 80-year-old man's journey to learn how to read in Kenya's newly promised free education system. Maruge, a veteran of Kenya's Mau Mau Uprising, fought against colonial British rule and longs for the education he was promised but never received. The First Grader documents Maruge's struggle to get accepted into the free primary school in the remote Kenyan bush, as well as Maruge's intimate friendship with his 6-year-old classmates.
The First Grader took home awards from film festivals in Toronto; London; Telluride, Colo.; and Doha, Qatar.
Previous recommendation: 'Children of the Street.'
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