CAFILM EDUCATION PRESENTS
CLASSROOM TO CINEMA
CLASSROOM TO CINEMA is a year-round K-12 screening series that brings the classroom into the theater. Schools are invited to morning screenings of films curated to align with classroom topics or cultural events.
This program transforms the theater into an interactive learning environment, offering students an engaging and immersive educational experience.
THE DEBUTANTES
FEBRUARY | BLACK HISTORY MONTH
GRADE LEVELS: 7-12
MONDAY, FEB 3 • 11:00 AM
MONDAY, FEB 24 • 11:00 AM
PROGRAM DURATION: 96 MIN FILM + 20 MIN VIRTUAL Q&A
ABOUT THE FILM
A coming-of-age portrait, THE DEBUTANTES follows an intergenerational group of Black women and girls as they revitalize a long-lost tradition, the debutante ball, in post-industrial Canton, Ohio.
Long considered a symbol of middle class respectability, a new generation of Black girls, many from a low-income community, must decide how much of this legacy they will embrace as a pathway to traditional ideas of advancement and success. Waltz lessons and etiquette classes clash with Gen Z sensibilities, as these high school juniors and seniors find their voices, find their light, and find their own way forward.
Director: Contessa Gayles (US 2024) 96 min
CONTESSA GAYLES is an award- winning film director, writer, DP, editor and an Emmy-nominated producer. She tells stories about identity, socio-political movement, healing, Black liberation and the radical imagination. Her films include the documentary-visual album SONGS FROM THE HOLE (SXSW Audience Award, 2024), THE DEBUTANTES (Tribeca Film Festival, 2024), THE FEMINIST ON CELLBLOCK Y (CNN, 2018) and FOUNDER GIRLS (BET, 2023).
SMOKING TIGERS
MAY | ASIAN PACIFIC HERITAGE MONTH
GRADE LEVELS: 7-12
MONDAY, MAY 12 • 11:00 AM
MONDAY, MAY 19 • 11:00 AM
PROGRAM DURATION: 91 MIN FILM + 20 MIN VIRTUAL Q&A
ABOUT THE FILM
Set in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, SMOKING TIGERS is a portrait of a lonely Korean-American teen named Hayoung who is taken under the wings of three wealthy students she meets at an elite academic bootcamp. As she falls deeper into their world, Hayoung works harder to hide her true self, only to discover the bittersweet pains of adulthood that will forever shape her life.
Directors: So Young Shelly Yo, Guo Guo (US 2023) 91 min
SO YOUNG SHELLY YO is a Korean American filmmaker whose work has been supported by HBO, SFFILM, Sloan and others. Shelly’s feature film, Smoking Tigers, was the winner of Tribeca & AT&T’s Untold Stories and was awarded best screenplay, best performance and a special jury mention for the Nora Ephron Prize at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
Prior to Smoking Tigers, Shelly created many award-winning short films including Soft Sounds of Peeling Fruit and Moonwalk with Me which have screened at festivals around the world. Most recently, Shelly was awarded the New Voice Award at the 2023 Austin Film Festival and was chosen for the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough Program.