Dekalb Elementary

Rated 7.5/10 on IMDb. 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. 2018 Academy Award Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Winner of Special Recognition in Acting at SXSW. Winner of Best Narrative Short at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Annapolis Film Festival. Winner of Panavision Best North American Short at Palm Springs International Shortfest. Winner of Best Short Film at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival. BAFTA Student Film Awards Finalist. 18 international festival selections and wins. In 2013, a young man walked into DeKalb Elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia, armed with a rifle. A school receptionist answered the door. What followed — captured in a 911 call that made national news — was one of the most remarkable acts of human connection under unimaginable pressure ever recorded. DeKalb Elementary reconstructs those moments in real time. Shot almost entirely within a single room, the film is a masterclass in tension, restraint, and performance — with Tarra Riggs and Bo Mitchell delivering two of the most acclaimed performances in recent short film history. Written, directed, and edited by Reed Van Dyk (UCLA MFA; Cornell BA; Princess Grace Award recipient), this is one of the most important American short films of the decade. Free with ads.