The Backward Class

The students of Shanti Bhavan residential school in Bangalore, India, imagine a future that defies their "untouchable" caste. Ostracized and oppressed by virtue of birth alone, the young men and women of Shanti Bhavan's Grade 12 class intend to break a cycle entrenched for generations by becoming the first Dalit students in India's history to undertake the national Indian School Certificate exams. Pressure mounts after 13 years of preparation and as the exam day approaches, confidence wavers, some students crack under the weight of expectations, while others fear bad luck will forever seal their fate. (Zlín Film Festival)