Rounding out his trilogy of Oakland based verité documentaries, which includes 2012’s “The Waiting Room” and 2017’s “The Force,” Peter Nicks’ newest, “Homeroom,” is a poignant look at the 2019-20 school year in Oakland, CA, in which the compounding issues around defunding the police and COVID-19 force the school district to reevaluate their priorities. Centralizing Denilson Garibo, a high school senior, who serves as one of the student directors on the Board of Education, for the Oakland Unified School District and representative, as he often likes to remind other board members, for the 36,000 students within the district, Nicks tracks Garibo’s pursuit to eliminate police presence within the school system.
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While lacking the sweeping thematic scope of, say, Steve James’ similarly themed “America to Me,” “Homeroom” is a humanizing portrait of advocacy in the face of bureaucratic gridlock. Focalizing the Board of Education meetings, in which Garibo, alongside his fellow students, highlight racial and economic inequalities that are exacerbated by police presence. As Garibo says, his family is undocumented, and any run-in with the police further puts his family at risk, a position that many other students attempt to navigate as well. Yet, at the beginning of the year, he meets a disinterested Board of Education, willing to enforce budgetary cuts but unwilling to consider limiting policing within schools. As the year progresses, with the Black Lives Matter movement intensifying as a result of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, the Board is forced to reevaluate their stances.
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Yet, Nicks keeps his overall narrative structure loose, often returning to Garibo’s undertaking, but just as willing to dwell in the daily activities of other students. By spending time on classroom discussions, college applications, and high school parties, the film wisely creates a mosaic of the student experience, showcasing the intersection of education and community reform. It’s obvious the teachers at Oakland High care about not only teaching their students, but reinforcing an investment within the community. Further, Nicks highlights the omnipresence of social media within these students’ lives, as they code-switch between multiple selves on a minute-by-minute basis. Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok are just as ubiquitous in their lives as is school. Wisely, “Homeroom” toggles between a verité approach and found footage, showcasing how Garibo utilizes social media to build a following.
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When the last third of the film moves into the spring semester, with the looming presence of COVID-19, the film becomes a stark reminder of how much we didn’t know in the beginning stages of the pandemic. As students hypothesize about the chances of contracting COVID, and the school abruptly shuts down for three weeks. With little to no structure, students turn to technology to maintain social contact and keep the movement going. While protests intensify in Oakland, Garibo sees an opportunity to galvanize the student body to force the Board of Education to vote on eliminating school policing. It’s a stunning display of political maneuvering by a high school student, who is obviously destined for greater things.
While “Homeroom” is often a wandering look at the single school year, it’s all the better for its loose approach, showcasing the overlapping identities that students have to navigate and the power of a collective body when they train their sights on change. In all, Nicks’ film is a deft portrait of the power of social movements and the connection between technology and change. [A-]
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