Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Unsung Heroes Series: Pressure Cooker
Redhouse

Price: $8 regular, $5 members
Redhouse
201 S. West St., Syracuse

As part of its "Unsung Heroes" Documentary Film Series, Red House Arts Center will screen Pressure Cooker, an inspirational film released in 2009, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker, to celebrate innovative teachers and administrators in CNY as part of Teacher Appreciation Week.

Pressure Cooker follows an unorthodox Culinary Arts teacher, Mrs. Stephenson, who is partially known as a tyrant throughout her Philadelphia public high school for her hoarse rebukes of her students' creations. She may be disarmingly blunt, but three seniors at Frankford High School find her an unlikely champion in the kitchen. A legend in the school system, Mrs. Stephenson's hilariously blunt boot-camp method of teaching Culinary Arts is validated by years of scholarship success. Against the backdrop of the row homes of working-class Philadelphia, she has helped countless students reach the top culinary schools in the country. And under her fierce direction, the usual distractions of high school are swept aside as Erica, Dudley and Fatoumata prepare to achieve beyond what anyone else expects from them.

Café sales for the evening and the following day will benefit Outliers, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to providing social, artistic, and educational support services and programs in order to help facilitate the process of reintegrating underrepresented minorities into academia and higher education. This organization's mission is to inspire kids to push beyond life's obstacles, a theme also present in the film.

Running Time: 1 hr. 39 min.

Teachers and administrators: bring your school ID and be eligible for great raffle prizes!