Director Amanda Wilder’s documentary Approaching the Elephant is a lo-fi, observational work, the kind of non-fiction cinema that is content to just sit back and allow a story to emerge organically. While this approach isn’t always productive for some films, Wilder’s subject is particularly well-suited to such fly-on-the-wall naturalism. Her feature documents the first year at the newly-founded Teddy McArdle Free School, an alternative institution organized according to “democratic education” ideals. Operating out of a Methodist church basement in Little Falls, New Jersey, the school determines almost every aspect of its operation—rules, curriculum, discipline—through voting meetings where students and teachers are co-equals.
The central figure of Wilder’s film is Alexander Khost, the school’s enthusiastic and infinitely patient founder. He and his fellow teachers have the unenviable task of convincing a dozen or so students of various middle-school ages to be the decision-makers in their own education. Two other characters, both students, also figure prominently in the documentary: 11-year-old Jiovanni, a charismatic ringleader with recurring anti-social behavioral problems; and Lucy, a good-natured 7-year-old with a sweet, diplomatic disposition. They and their classmates at once exploit their school’s relaxed format while also engaging seriously with its radical, self-governing protocols. The resulting atmosphere feels anarchic at times but also oddly civic-minded and—dare one say it?—adult.
Wilder’s film is less interested in making the case for the school’s alternative model than in capturing the entrancing, fearsome chaos of human relationships. Watching Teddy McCardle’s students and teachers collide off one another proves to be an enthralling, emotionally wrenching experience. Shooting in black and white and intruding minimally on her subjects, Wilder crafts a raw, dizzying portrait of an uncommon, fascinating dynamic. Students and teachers grapple together as colleagues---sometimes collaborative, sometimes adversarial—to create an environment where everyone can learn.
Approaching the Elephant will screen at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 at the Webster University Film Series in the Winifred Moore Auditorium. Director Amanda Wilder will be in attendance to answer questions. Admission is $6 (cash only).
