Corrections Class

Ivan Tverdovsky's 2014 debut feature is about a corrections class in a Russian school. Lena uses a wheelchair and, after years taught at home, wants to return to school, where she is placed in this class set aside for disabled pupils. Its students are expected to appear before a commission at the end of the year and prove they deserve to move into normal classes. The film shows an education system that would rather keep these pupils out of sight than genuinely support them, and describes the bullying inside the school openly. The relationship between Lena and a classmate causes a rupture in the group and the last section is very harsh. It is loosely adapted from Ekaterina Murashova's novel. It won a prize at Karlovy Vary. Who it's for: viewers who can take Russian independent cinema and hard social drama. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach sexual violence and bullying; the film shows them directly.