Directors JEN BRADWELL, TODD BOEKELHEIDE (US 2024) 90 min

No one can deny that children are our hope for the future, yet the dedicated workers who nourish these vital forces of nature now face an existential challenge of epic proportions. Since emerging from the intense upheaval of the pandemic years, many essential yet often invisible childcare providers have continued to feed young minds even while literally unable to feed themselves. The result: a new wave of unlikely political activists. This powerful film follows educators at three childcare centers in California over several years, and culminates as thousands march on the State Capitol demanding better working conditions. Weaving together the magic they create in the classroom, the struggles they endure at home, and their drive to change the system for the better, Make a Circle extends a rallying cry for a childcare system in crisis.