Director: Jennifer Arnold
Kenya/U.S. I 2010 I 88 minutes

This film won the Women In Film/National Geographic All Roads Best Documentary award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

When Hilde Back sponsored a young, rural Kenyan student, she never knew of the effect or result from her small monthly gift. She certainly never imagined or expected to hear from the Kenyan student, but years later, she did. Now a Harvard Law School graduate and a human rights lawyer for the United Nations, Chris Mburu decided to find the kind stranger who changed his life forever. Today in Kenya, the top students at Mukubu Primary School are still in the exact same situation as Chris once was. They are bright with tremendous desire and the potential for success, but are halted because too frequently they cannot afford to pay the required school fees to further their education onto the secondary level and beyond. Chris, before he ever met Hilde, was inspired by her generosity and started a scholarship program of his own and named the Hilde Back Scholarship Fund. With the creation of Chris’ new fund, the students have hope. But the fund is small and the need is far greater. Using a strong narrative, director Jennifer Arnold creates an award-winning film that interweaves seemingly separate lives into a cohesive whole. With clarity and grace, A Small Act bears witness to the ripple effect a single kind act can create.

There will be a discussion with the director following the screening.

Director:
Jennifer Arnold graduated from UCLA and University of Nairobi with a B.A. in African history and returned to UCLA for an M.F.A. in film. Her award-winning film, Maid of Honor, screened at Sundance before airing on HBO/Cinemax and Film 4. Jennifer returned to Sundance with her Internet series, The Mullet Chronicles, which was developed into the documentary American Mullet and released by Palm Pictures and Lions Gate. Jennifer also co-directed a documentary for Ethan Coen and wrote a motorcross script, Speedway, which was selected for Berlin Talent Campus’ script clinic, IFP’s No Borders, and FIND’s Directors Lab / Fast Track Program.