documentary
48 min
English
Digital Betacam
2003

writer, narrator & director
Peter Farbridge
producer
Andrew Noble
executive producer
Anne-Marie Gélinas
associate producer
Sara Morley
director of photography
Rénald Bellemare
editor
Suzanne Turgeon
sound designer
Sylvain Bellemare
original music
Rudy Valentino

Canadian distribution
Cinéma Libre

produced with the
participation of

The Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

SODEC Société de développement des entreprises culturelles - Québec Programme d'aide aux jeunes créateurs

The Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund

Change from Within is the story of St Peter Claver Primary School. What began twelve years ago as a typical Kingston inner-city school with problems of illiteracy, truancy, violence, a lack of resources and motivation has become a phenomenon that is attracting attention nationwide. They now call this school "the Oasis of the West" - an oasis in the desert of West Kingston.

Between the hilltop mansions and the azure Caribbean Sea lie the violent and impoverished inner cities of Kingston, Jamaica where thousands of people struggle to build a life for themselves within one of the harshest urban environments in the world. But within Kingston's ghettos some people have decided that they won't be held back by the cycle of violence and poverty they were born to. Instead they are forging new destinies for themselves through a belief that change is possible.

St Peter Claver's charismatic and visionary principal, Margaret Bolt, took over a demoralized and damaged school and, by emphasizing personal involvement and respect for the individual, revolutionized the students' academic achievement and sense of self-esteem. The story exemplifies how strengthening mutual respect and core values can lead the way to tangible change, both personally and economically.