US
"Part case study on entrenched racism, part heartbreaking human-rights story, Our School observes the feinting of small-town officials in rural Transylvania as they try to duck a mandate to integrate Roma children into the regular school system. Following three Roma, or Gypsy, youngsters for four years beginning in 2006, the directors, Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma, record the spasms of desegregation with patient persistence...As events gather tragic momentum, the filmmakers see no need to underline their shamefulness. There’s no shortage of Romanians happy to do it for them."
The New York Times
Critics' Pick: Barely Literate, Roma Pupils Struggle for Schooling
Jeanette Catsoulis (January 18, 2013)
"Nicoara has a knack for ferreting out moments that reveal actual Romanian attitudes."
Village Voice
Our School: Seriously, People Still Hate Gypsies?
Nick Pinkerton (January 16, 2013)
Film Review: Our School
Maitland McDonagh (January 16, 2013)
"Through some frankly lovely observational footage, some scenes that are painful to see... and remarkably revealing interviews, the movie doesn’t so much press its case as it lets it unfold."
"A moving dedication by filmmakers Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma to the Roma people in Romania, chronicling their incredible resilience and character in the face of perpetual segregation and discrimination...A film that simultaneously made me love even more those extraordinary human beings we call Gypsies, and hate the infuriating traditions of institutionalized racism present in so many modern societies, and so dangerously insidious."
"Exercising admirable restraint in its expose of ingrained racism in the Romanian educational system, absorbing docu Our School follows the sad yet resilient journey of three Roma children over four years as they grapple with prejudice and stereotyping. Unveiled at Tribeca before SilverDocs, where it won the Sterling Award for top nonfiction feature, even-keeled pic carries echoes of Michael Apted's groundbreaking Up series...Credit helmer Mona Nicoara with having the wisdom and fortitude to let the depth of the problem reveal itself naturally, correctly anticipating viewer outrage as the children are marginalized over time."
The New York Times
Critics' Pick: Barely Literate, Roma Pupils Struggle for Schooling
Jeanette Catsoulis (January 18, 2013)
"Nicoara has a knack for ferreting out moments that reveal actual Romanian attitudes."
Village Voice
Our School: Seriously, People Still Hate Gypsies?
Nick Pinkerton (January 16, 2013)
"Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma's documentary
unfolds in Romania, but its depiction of multi-generational poverty
perpetuated in part by substandard schooling could as easily have been
set in dozens of other countries...Our School's final, four-years-later summation—more than a
coda, less than a fully fleshed-out segment—falls somewhere between
starry optimism and resignation, and it's remarkably affecting in
the way real life often is."
Film Journal InternationalFilm Review: Our School
Maitland McDonagh (January 16, 2013)
"Through some frankly lovely observational footage, some scenes that are painful to see... and remarkably revealing interviews, the movie doesn’t so much press its case as it lets it unfold."
PopMatters
Cynthia Fuchs (January 6, 2012)
"A moving dedication by filmmakers Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma to the Roma people in Romania, chronicling their incredible resilience and character in the face of perpetual segregation and discrimination...A film that simultaneously made me love even more those extraordinary human beings we call Gypsies, and hate the infuriating traditions of institutionalized racism present in so many modern societies, and so dangerously insidious."
Huffington Post
Camden Film Fest Screens Great Docs Because You Can Handle the Truth
E. Nina Rothe (September 26, 2011)
Camden Film Fest Screens Great Docs Because You Can Handle the Truth
E. Nina Rothe (September 26, 2011)
"Exercising admirable restraint in its expose of ingrained racism in the Romanian educational system, absorbing docu Our School follows the sad yet resilient journey of three Roma children over four years as they grapple with prejudice and stereotyping. Unveiled at Tribeca before SilverDocs, where it won the Sterling Award for top nonfiction feature, even-keeled pic carries echoes of Michael Apted's groundbreaking Up series...Credit helmer Mona Nicoara with having the wisdom and fortitude to let the depth of the problem reveal itself naturally, correctly anticipating viewer outrage as the children are marginalized over time."
"Among the most moving and galvanizing in the [Tribeca] festival, Our School was filmed in color in Romania, but finds racism as shocking as the Lovings faced in the Jim Crowe South. Like watching the European equivalent of the aftermath of Brown vs. Board of Education, endemic prejudice against the Roma (or Gypsy) people plays out bald-faced in front of the cameras of Mona Nicoara and Miruna Coca-Cozma in one small town, where the European Court of Human Rights ordered school integration of Roma children to begin...This quietly observed, yet explosive documentary could be exhibit A in another law suit."
"Some documentary films take us far away to reveal what we did not know while other documentaries return us home to confront what we already know. Our School does both...Targu-Lapus is far off in the Transylvania Mountains, yet it mirrors what we know about small towns in the Appalachian Mountains. It seems only beauty has diversity; the ugly is the same everywhere—although at the end of this fine documentary, the Romanian community leaders are quite creative in embracing desegregation to perpetuate segregation. Logic has no meaning for those fired by hate and prejudice. Our School is a gentle and smart film."
Filmmaker Magazine
Surveying the Docs at Tribeca
Stewart Nusbaumer (April 29, 2011)
Romanian
"Jucăuş, fragil, delicat, absurd, instabil, temător, dureros, luptător. Îţi vine să plângi şi să râzi în acelaşi timp, să fii revoltat şi totodată înduioşat. Filmul îţi captează atenţia de la primul cadru, iar protagoniştii sunt incredibili... Secvenţele se succed prin opoziţie, ceea ce induce un ritm şi o plăcere deosebită de a descoperi surprizele la tot pasul."
LiterNet.ro
Mirona Radu (March 15, 2012)
"Da, Şcoala noastră iţi provoacă un sentiment de ruşine. E ca şi cum te uiţi in oglindă şi nu-ţi mai funcţionează niciun mecanism de protecţie, de auto-justificare. Eşti doar tu şi ipocritul, orbul şi suficientul din tine. Documentarul iţi pune in faţă o poveste sinceră, atât de bine construită incât n-ai şanse să găseşti vreo scurtătură de care să te agăţi pentru detronarea concluziei."
Raluk.ro
Craita Nanu (March 14, 2012)
"Cel mai bun documentar românesc din ultimii ani...printre acele proiecte care au ştiut să pună una dintre întrebările cele mai pertinente pentru prezentul românesc."
ArtAct Magazine
Radu Toderici (October 28, 2011)
"Şcoala noastră este unul dintre acele documentare de preţ la finalul căruia amuţeşti
pentru că ceva nou şi impresionant ţi s-a dezvăluit."
Contributors.ro & HotNews.ro
Vlad Mixich (July 22, 2011)
"Nu sunt sigură câte prejudecăţi aveam în geanta purtată pe umăr în momentul în care am intrat în sală, dar în schimb nu am nicio îndoială faţă de câte dintre ele mi-au fost nu doar spulberate, ci înlocuite cu un sentiment pe care nu aş fi crezut să mi-l pot descoperi...Mi-aş fi dorit să am curajul să fiu una dintre persoanele din sală care şi-au exprimat opinia, spunând un singur lucru: Îmi cer iertare în numele tuturor românilor pentru ceea ce – conştient sau inconştient – facem."
"Nu sunt sigură câte prejudecăţi aveam în geanta purtată pe umăr în momentul în care am intrat în sală, dar în schimb nu am nicio îndoială faţă de câte dintre ele mi-au fost nu doar spulberate, ci înlocuite cu un sentiment pe care nu aş fi crezut să mi-l pot descoperi...Mi-aş fi dorit să am curajul să fiu una dintre persoanele din sală care şi-au exprimat opinia, spunând un singur lucru: Îmi cer iertare în numele tuturor românilor pentru ceea ce – conştient sau inconştient – facem."
Revista Echinox
Mirela Dimitriu (June 6, 2011)
"De nenumărate ori ai ocaza să pufnești în râs, iar spectatorii au făcut-o, pe parcursul vizionării peliculei...”Școala noastră” e, totodată, un film-școală, pentru cei care au, totuși, disponibilitate să învețe ceva din această peliculă. Acest lucru nu trasnformă însă filmul într-unul tezist. E doar mărturia despre viața unor copii romi (Alin, Dana, Beni și alții) urmăriți pe parcursul a cinci ani. Visurile lor, jocurile lor, problemele lor, care sunt departe de a fi idealizate."
VoxPublica
Mihai Goțiu (June 6, 2011)
more press
Slant Magazine
Our School
Steve MacFarlane (January 16, 2013)
Berner KulturAgenda
Klappe für «Notre école»
Christine A. Bloch (November 2, 2012)
Arbetarmarkt
Romsk "integration" samt barnmodeller på rumänska filmdagar
Jens-Hugo Nyberg (September 11, 2012)
Lip Magazine Australia
Film Review: Our School
Melissa Wellham (May 30, 2012)
Right Now Australia
HRAFF Film Review - Our School
Sonia Nair (April 14, 2012)
Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung
Stigmatisiert und vergessen in der letzten Reihe
Lucia Schöpfer (March 31, 2012)
Mondiaal Niews
Roma en de EU: Weinig stokken om mee te slaan
Hellen Koojiman (March 28, 2012)
Filme/Carti
Delia (March 15, 2012)
LiterNet.ro
Manuela Zipsi (March 15, 2012)
Gazeta.pl
'Dać szkołę Romom'
Monika Rakusa (December 15, 2011)
Alyse Kraus (June 22, 2011)
Mike Madden (June 17, 2011)
Cineuropa
Cineuropa
Our School: Portrait of a Lost Generation
Boyd van Hoeij (June 6, 2011)
Romea.cz
Integration through children's eyes: Documentary film shows the snags in desegregation
Katerina Copjakova (March 3, 2011)
Boyd van Hoeij (June 6, 2011)
Romea.cz
Integration through children's eyes: Documentary film shows the snags in desegregation
Katerina Copjakova (March 3, 2011)
interviews
HotNews
Interviu AstraFilm 2014
Narcis Anton (October 11, 2014)
"Filmul e o unealtă care poate fi folosită de cei care luptă să schimbe lumea" Interviu cu Mona Nicoară
Mihaela Mihalcov (November 16, 2013)
Filmmaker Magazine
Five Questions with "Our School" Director/Producer Mona Nicoara
Billy Brennan (January 16, 2013)
Dilema Veche
Nu doar un film despre Romi: "Şcoala Noastră" Interviu cu regizoarea Mona Nicoară
Bianca-Olivia Niță (May 10, 2012)
Les Quotidiennes
Miruna Coca-Cozma filme le reve entrave d'une école pour enfants Roms
Chantal Savioz (March 23, 2012)
Radio RTS
Un documentaire sur les enfants roms
Michele Durand-Vallade (March 16, 2012)
Think Outside the Box
Interviu cu regizoarea documentarului "Şcoala Noastră" - o poveste de integrare cu final de segregare
Ionuta Dulamita (March 14, 2012)
CBC Radio: Dispatches
Romania Outreach to Roma Falls Short
Rick MacInnes-Rae (January 5, 2012)
Cafebabel.com
Our School Documentary: Segregated Roma Schools Despite EU Funds
Linda Krajcso (November 29, 2011)
DOKweb
Breaking the Spell - An Interview with Mona Nicoara
Magda Španihelová (November 21, 2011)
Magyar Narancs
Mit tehet egy film? - Mona Nicoara aktivista, író, filmrendező
Oksana Sarkisova (November 3, 2011)
Berlin Goes Balkan
Our School: An Elegy about Race Relations and Squandered Opportunities. Interview with Mona Nicoara
Lena Kilkka (August 17, 2011)
CinemaRX
Mona Nicoară, regizoarea unui documentar-eveniment, vorbeste despre Şcoala noastră
Raluca Bugnar (May 5, 2011)
Indiewire
Meet the 2011 Tribeca Filmmakers | Our School Directors
(April 12, 2011)
Open Society Foundation
Interviu AstraFilm 2014
Narcis Anton (October 11, 2014)
Gazeta de Artă Politică
"Filmul e o unealtă care poate fi folosită de cei care luptă să schimbe lumea" Interviu cu Mona Nicoară
Mihaela Mihalcov (November 16, 2013)
Filmmaker Magazine
Five Questions with "Our School" Director/Producer Mona Nicoara
Billy Brennan (January 16, 2013)
Dilema Veche
Nu doar un film despre Romi: "Şcoala Noastră" Interviu cu regizoarea Mona Nicoară
Bianca-Olivia Niță (May 10, 2012)
Les Quotidiennes
Miruna Coca-Cozma filme le reve entrave d'une école pour enfants Roms
Chantal Savioz (March 23, 2012)
Radio RTS
Un documentaire sur les enfants roms
Michele Durand-Vallade (March 16, 2012)
Think Outside the Box
Interviu cu regizoarea documentarului "Şcoala Noastră" - o poveste de integrare cu final de segregare
Ionuta Dulamita (March 14, 2012)
CBC Radio: Dispatches
Romania Outreach to Roma Falls Short
Rick MacInnes-Rae (January 5, 2012)
Cafebabel.com
Our School Documentary: Segregated Roma Schools Despite EU Funds
Linda Krajcso (November 29, 2011)
DOKweb
Breaking the Spell - An Interview with Mona Nicoara
Magda Španihelová (November 21, 2011)
Magyar Narancs
Mit tehet egy film? - Mona Nicoara aktivista, író, filmrendező
Oksana Sarkisova (November 3, 2011)
Berlin Goes Balkan
Our School: An Elegy about Race Relations and Squandered Opportunities. Interview with Mona Nicoara
Lena Kilkka (August 17, 2011)
CinemaRX
Mona Nicoară, regizoarea unui documentar-eveniment, vorbeste despre Şcoala noastră
Raluca Bugnar (May 5, 2011)
Indiewire
Meet the 2011 Tribeca Filmmakers | Our School Directors
(April 12, 2011)
Open Society Foundation
IonCinema
Class in Session: Mona Nicoara's Our School Makes Tribeca Cut
Marin Apostol (March 17, 2011)
Class in Session: Mona Nicoara's Our School Makes Tribeca Cut
Marin Apostol (March 17, 2011)
