...will anyone care? That's the question posed by this friendly, gently moving documentary from Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) as it follows Matthew and Emily, a couple of designer-builders (who are also a couple), as they implement a design and build program at a high school in poverty-stricken Bertie County, North Carolina. The film probes politely into the personal lives of the students (many of whom don't much care for school), the life of the county, and Matt's history with the dangers of charity-based architecture. But mostly, it documents the student's projects, from cornhole boards to chicken coops to an honest-to-goodness farmer's market. There are odd gaps for a film so focused on the details of getting things done. (Why was the school superintendent who recruited Matthew and Emily suspended? Why exactly was the couple denied funding by the school board? How did they live without a salary?) But what does make it onto the screen is happy and sad and amazing and dreamy in just the way you might expect a story involving high school kids learning about Buckminster Fuller to be. (2014) — Matthew Lickona
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