We excited to let you know about Best Kept Secret, a new award-winning documentary about special education students, opening in NYC September 5-12. Directed by Samantha Buck, the film follows Janet Mino, a spirited and dedicated teacher in Newark, NJ as she struggles to prepare her students with autism to transition from safe and protective environment of school to the daunting and sometimes harsh realities of independent adulthood. If you’re in NY, we hope you will attend. To learn more about their outreach campaign, visit https://bestkeptsecretfilm.com/

At JFK High School, located in the midst of a run-down area in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, administrators answer the phone by saying, “You’ve reached John F. Kennedy High School, Newark’s Best Kept Secret.” And indeed, it is. JFK is a school for all types of students with special education needs, ranging from those on the autism spectrum to those with multiple disabilities. Janet Mino has taught her class of six young autistic men for 4 years. They must graduate from JFK in the spring of 2012. The clock is ticking to find them a place in the adult world – a job or rare placement in a recreational center – so they do not end up where their predecessors have, sitting at home, institutionalized, or on the streets.

Best Kept Secret is playing at the following locations in New York:

UPTOWN: At the New MIST Harlem Theater
46 W 116th St  New York, NY 10026
Premiere 9/5 7pm and Q&A with filmmakers
Screenings 9/7 4pm & 6pm with panel discussions
Facebook Event Page

DOWNTOWN: At the IFC Center
323 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10014
Playing 9/6-9/12