The Sitting Machine 2009

Directed by Paul Hunt

This character-driven verité documentary about children, learning and creativity, follows eight fifth graders in Rheems, Pennsylvania, as they set out to design and build chairs that can hold their own weight using only cardboard and glue. In Mrs. Smith's enrichment class they put away textbooks and learn to question the ordinary, take risks and solve problems themselves. With no interviews or commentary over a seven-month arc, it's a chance to observe the emerging personalities and natural drama of eight 10-year-olds. It's a heartfelt fifth-grade experience of creativity, frustration, hilarity and triumph.