The Pushouts

Loving husband, father, award-winning professor, author, speaker, and mentor, Dr. Victor Rios is many things to many people. Growing up impoverished and practically alone in West Oakland, California, a young Victor could not have forecast this life for himself. With no time to dream, he was struggling to survive - stealing cars, joining a gang, and quitting school. Luckily, Victor refused to be pushed out of the school system, and 20 years later we see him return to his old neighborhood to help other “pushouts” reengage. Joined by an impressive team of his former university students, Victor is intent on arresting the school-to-prison pipeline for a group of teens in Yo! Watts, a program for out-of-school youth directed by one of his mentors, Martin Flores. Victor puts a premium on the teens’ finding trust in themselves and others as they begin the process of crafting their own stories of resilience and success. (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival)