I have to pass. If not, my life goes in a negative direction. My dreams will be shattered...

- Mongamo Tyhala, age 18

TESTINGSouth Africa HOPE Grade 12 in the new

A FILM BY MOLLY BLANK

1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

TESTING HOPE

SYNOPSIS
In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa. In a country new to democracy, thousands of children began rst grade. This rst generation educated in post-apartheid South Africa reached Grade 12 in 2005. Testing Hope: Grade 12 in the new South Africa chronicles the lives of four of these young people, students at Oscar Mpetha High School in Nyanga township, just outside Cape Town, as they work towards their crucial nal exams, the Matric tests, which one student calls the decider. While this is the Nyanga of a new South Africa, many vestiges of apartheid remain poverty is entrenched, many students live in shacks, and families have been dramatically changed by the impact of HIV-AIDS. Despite a promise of opportunity, over half of all young people aged 16 to 25 are unemployed. Testing Hope follows the students as they prepare for these exams which they believe will determine their future. It explores what hangs in the balance for individual students if they pass Matric and what awaits those who do not? How do they achieve their dreams in a country where so many obstacles remain?

1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

TESTING HOPE

DIRECTORS BIOGRAPHY
Molly Blank was the recipient of a 2005 Fulbright Scholarship to South Africa for journalism. While there, in addition to making this documentary, she taught literature and grammar to Grade 12 English classes in Nyanga township. She also developed and co-taught the Creative Arts Workshop, a weekly arts and theater course for high school students in Khayelitsha township. In 2004 Molly received a Masters in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley where she produced, directed and edited the documentary short Lights in the Delta, about the impact of casinos on the black and white communities of Tunica County, Mississippi. She was an intern at ABC News Nightline in 2003. Previously, she worked at York Zimmerman Inc. as a researcher and production coordinator on the Peabody award-winning lm, Bringing Down A Dictator, about the nonviolent movement which defeated the Serbian strongman, Slobodan Milosevic. Prior to working in documentary lm, Molly spent two years teaching public school in Washington, D.C. as part of Teach for America. She is a 1998 graduate of Tufts University with a B.A. in History.

1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

TESTING HOPE

DIRECTORS STATEMENT
Matric. One small word that carries with it the hopes, fears and futures of every student in South Africa. I have heard these high school exit exams called the decider, the ticket to life and the ones that are going to let me live my dream and fulll my goals. Until I made this lm, I did not understand that for most students Matric exams were the most important thing these young people had tried to do in their lives. Before I became a documentary lmmaker, I taught elementary school in an low-income community in Washington, DC. Going to South Africa was a unique opportunity to combine my two passions, education and documentary lm, in a meaningful way. I had never known anything like the Matric exams when I became a substitute teacher for Grade 12 English at Oscar Mpetha High School in Nyanga in 2005. As I came to know the students, I realized that my documentary was right in front of me. The students in this lm Noluyanda, Babalwa, Mongamo, Sipho -- are unapologetic about where they come from. They acknowledge the challenges in their lives and talk frankly about their families and their experiences with violence and hunger. Yet, they have a resilience and optimism when they talk about their goals for the future. They want to become doctors, lawyers and civil engineers; they want to change their own lives and play a role in building the new South Africa. It has been 13 years since the end of apartheid and its legacy lingers. Students still experience an education system with deep disparities between White and Black. Why would this surprise me? In the U.S., more than fty years have passed since the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education, and my country is still struggling to ensure that all students receive an equal education. Ultimately, it was the students who drew me to this story how they live their lives with a dignity and sense of possibility and how they continue to dream their dreams in the face of innumerable obstacles. Simply passing these tests does not guarantee their future. This is why it was so important for me to include in the lm the question their teacher asks, Whats next? What opportunities will they have to fulll their goals in the evolving democracy of South Africa? My lm does not hold the answers, but it does put names and faces onto some of the most pressing issues facing youth in South Africa today. I hope that Testing Hope can contribute to a better understanding of these issues and perhaps inspire people to act. Molly Blank
1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

TESTING HOPE

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Making the documentary had an impact on my passing Grade 12. Before they came, in the beginning of the year I was unhappy, but in making the documentary that sadness disappeared. All in all this was an adventure for me. Mongamo Tyhala, Age 18 Being in the lm is a great opportunity for us to get noticed as black students who are studying in bad conditions. It is for all other African countries that are also battling in terms of quality educationWhat I liked most is it represented all the students who dont have much in their schools but strive to get the best in life. Noluyanda Roxwana, Age 18 God gave me someone to talk with and share my problems and that person is Molly Blank and her camera. In the lm I learned many things like self-condence and self-discipline. The lm was another thing that makes me to be open about what is going on about my life and it makes me to be proud about myself. Sipho Mpaku, Age 21 Firstly it seemed difcult and uncomfortable because we have to comment about everything that happens in our daily lives. But it was very easy for me to express myself in front of the camera. I felt like there would be a big change in my life after the movie. Im saying this because people will know how I feel and what I want to do for my country and its people. Babalwa Yabo, Age 18

1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

TESTING HOPE

CREDITS
Written, Directed and Edited by MOLLY BLANK Camera KRISTIN PICHASKE Consulting Producer ELIZABETH OBRIEN GARDNER Sound MOLLY BLANK AIDAN HARPER SITHEMBELE MABELE SIPHO MPAKU DAVID RENICLE Additional Camera RIYAAZ DALVIE MOLLY BLANK Production Assistants ASANDA GONYA SIPHO MPAKU SITHEMBELE MABELE MPUMELELO ZUMANA Original Music JOHN KELTONIC Translator BULELWA MSHUMPELA Narrator LIBBY CONN Advisors JONATHAN JANSEN PETER KALLAWAY SALIM VALLY
1-510-847-8262 | mollydblank@gmail.com | www.matricthefilm.com

Audio Post-Production ANDY BAROOMAND, POST-OP MEDIA Color Correction GREG CONNER, MVI POST Graphic Design THEA KARAS Archival Photos NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SOUTH AFRICA UWC-ROBBEN ISLAND MUSEUM MAYIBUYE ARCHIVES Music DO IT AGAIN BY DJ CLEO KUYOBANJANI NA BY VUSI MAHLASELA Funders THE W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION THE CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION THE WALLACE GLOBAL FUND THE FULBRIGHT PROGRAM INDIVIDUAL DONORS Outreach Partner EDUCATION AFRICA Fiscal Sponsor WOMEN MAKE MOVIES

Special Thanks OSCAR MPETHA HIGH SCHOOL STAFF AND STUDENTS KHOLEKA BUHLUNGU NOTHEMBA GROOTBOOM IEGSAAN ISAACS PRINCIPAL DUMILE MAWISA MOSES, ANELE, AND SIYABULELA MPAKU THE ROXWANA FAMILY VERONICA AND SIYAMTHANDA TYHALA THE YABO FAMILY THE MATIWANE FAMILY IN NGCOBO BABALWA NGCOFE AND FAMILY GUS GARDNER DEBBIE HOFFMANN CASSIE HUGHES BILL JOHNSON ANJA KIESSLING DAN KRAUSS MONICA LAM ANNA LUTY ELISSA RUBIN EMILY SQUIRES ERIKA TRAUTMAN LINDY WILSON STEVE YORK MIRIAM ZIMMERMAN HELEN, MARTY AND LIZA BLANK