Hulu Scores Peter Nicks’ Sundance Doc Homeroom

Hulu has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Peter Nicks’ 2021 Sundance Film Festival official selection Homeroom.

Homeroom marks Nicks’ final chapter in a trilogy of films examining the relationship between health care, criminal justice and education in Oakland, CA, over the past decade. Hulu also holds the U.S. streaming rights for The Waiting Room (2012) and The Force (2017).

In the doc, Oakland High School’s class of 2020 confronts an unprecedented year. Anxiety over test scores and college applications gives way to uncertainty springing from a rapidly developing pandemic. Efforts to eliminate the school district’s police force unfold against the backdrop of growing nationwide demands for systemic change.

The film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival where editors Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno won the new Sundance Joshua Oppenheim Editing Award, U.S. Documentary.

Belisa Balaban, VP of original documentaries at Hulu, said: “Homeroom is a timely and empowering story that celebrates the courage and tenacity of young people today. Pete Nicks is a true visionary and vibrant storyteller, and we’re incredibly proud to champion his collective work.”

Nicole Stott and Jonathan Silberberg of Concordia Studio, said: “We are thrilled that Pete Nicks’ beautiful film has found a home at Hulu. We can’t wait for audiences to engage with the vision and passion of Oakland High’s Class of 2020, during a truly extraordinary year.”

Ryan Coogler of Proximity Media added: “Pete Nicks is a master filmmaker with an uncanny ability to bring us closer to subjects that are important to our social fabric, but so often overlooked. Homeroom ushers us into the lives of Oakland high school students as they prepare for all of the ritual rites of passage into adulthood, who through the uprising of last summer, suddenly find their voices. The film speaks to the power of young people at a time when we still see them silenced, discounted, and their lives being snuffed out by state powers. Homeroom is essential filmmaking, and I couldn’t be prouder to be involved with bringing this film to the world.”