Release date: 15th April 2011
Certificate: TBC
Running time: 88 mins
Director: Jennifer Arnold
Starring: N/a
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Dogwoof
Format: Cinema
Country: USA
This is a multiple, including English, language release.
A small act of kindness can ripple throughout the world. That is the guiding idea behind this documentary, directed by independent filmmaker Jennifer Arnold, which follows the incredible story of Chris Mburu.
Chris Mburu is a Human Rights lawyer who works for the United Nations and is a Harvard graduate. However, his journey to this point was not straightforward; he was born into poverty in a small Kenyan village and, as he explains at the start of the film, his parents did not have enough money to send him to secondary school, despite him being the brightest student in his class. He would probably still be living in that same village, uneducated, were it not for Hilde Back. Hilde sponsored Chris as part of a Swedish sponsorship system, enabling Chris to get through secondary school and continue onto the University of Nairobi and Harvard.
Chris is now in a position to help others, and decides to set up a similar system to sponsor children from his village so that they can have the same opportunities he did. Although he knows nothing about Hilde Back apart from her name, and that she was a Swedish teacher, he creates the foundation in her name. Doing this motivates Chris to try and find Hilde if he can, to say thank you. When he finally meets her, he realises that there is a lot more to this quiet, retired teacher than meets the eye, and an extraordinary bond develops between them.
Back in the Kenyan village where Chris grew up, there are three children, all desperate for the scholarship which will change their lives. However, as violence breaks out in the country following the elections, it demonstrates starkly that without education, it is not just the fate of the individual children which is at stake, but that of an entire nation…
This documentary is deceptively simple, given the scope of what it portrays – several countries, many individual lives, different times and generations – yet Arnold weaves them all seamlessly into one coherent story. What is perhaps even more astonishing is that while she is clearly a talented filmmaker, she did not invent any of this; she found an incredible true story which spans the globe whilst being personal. It does take a little time for the film to get going, as the viewer is introduced to the different settings - Sweden, Kenya and Switzerland - but that groundwork soon pays off, and you cannot help but be drawn into this powerful tale of humanity.
Chris Mburu is the cornerstone of this film; he is the link which holds the other stories together, and there is something very poetic about the way the search for his benefactor takes place as he fulfils the same role for other children, who he hopes will go on to do the same so that the one small act grows and grows.
Kimani, Ruth and Caroline, the three children we are introduced to, are warm and engaging, with drive and determination to do well. They are under no illusions about how important the scholarship is, not just for them but for their whole families - they feel that the responsibility for providing their loved ones with a better life rests on their shoulders.
On the other side of the world, Hilde Back represents all that this film is about. She is an ordinary yet extraordinary lady, a retired schoolteacher, a German-Jewish refugee, a woman of 85 who is still full of spirit and vigour. She has seen humanity’s power to do both good and evil. She is not sentimental and takes everything in her stride, including a trip to Kenya, but is truly amazed when Chris finds her and ends up forging a strong relationship with him. Her uncomplicated words of wisdom provide much of the narration in the film.
The less obvious hero in this story is Chris’s cousin, Jane Wanjiru. She too had a Swedish benefactor, and she followed Chris to Nairobi, Harvard and the United Nations, where she works as a lawyer, specialising in refugee crises. She is on the board of the scholarship foundation, where she not only argues to get children accepted who have not made the required grade, but is also the voice for women’s rights, proposing that there should be an equal number of boys and girls on the programme. She knows all too well what a lack of education means for women in that situation, and is determined that the girls should also have the opportunity of a good education.
What makes this documentary special is the fact that, above all, it has a positive message. It does not shy away from harsh realities, or portray the situation in a falsely optimistic way, but it is ultimately uplifting. In an increasingly cynical and pessimistic world, where the individual can often feel that nothing they do will make the slightest bit of difference, this film offers a message of hope. Hilde Back did not know for years what happened to the child she sponsored in faraway Kenya, she had no idea that her small donation had created so much good.
At an hour-and-a-half, the film does not labour its points, and the viewer never feels like it is preaching; it is simply telling a story and showing the exponential ripple effect that a small act can have. While it does tie up enough loose ends to give it a satisfying conclusion, it is a real-life documentary; these people’s lives are still continuing and that is also clear. In this way, it creates a very interactive experience with the audience. There is never any kind of appeal for money, but you cannot fail to be moved by the story and frustrated that more children cannot be helped. This explains why so many people have donated money to the Hilde Back Education Fund after seeing this film. The story is not yet finished, and it offers the chance for everyone to be a part of it.
An inspiring and powerful documentary which empowers the viewer to make a difference. A Small Act really can change the world. KS
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