Jane Elliott Against the World

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On April 5, 1968, the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, third-grade teacher Jane Elliott walked into her all-white classroom in Riceville, Iowa and divided her students by eye color. The lesson in discrimination that followed became known around the world as "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes", a controversial and influential exercise that employs experiential and emotional learning to challenge students, teachers, and viewers to confront the arbitrary nature of prejudice, and reckon with the lived experience of those subjected to unequal power.

Jane Elliott Against the World follows Elliott's journey from that small Iowa classroom to the national stage, where she became one of America's most forceful voices on racism, power, education, and moral responsibility. Looking at both the impact of Elliott's work and the personal costs of a lifetime spent challenging people to face uncomfortable truths, the film draws on rare archival material, present-day vérité footage, and interviews with former students, family members, educators, scholars, and cultural figures to illuminate the remarkable career of an educator with deep convictions, and who never shies away from confrontation in speaking truth to power. But rather than present Elliott as a simple hero, the film honestly depicts the toll her work took on her children, and looks at the sacrifices and consequences that can come with a life singularly devoted to a principled, and sometime unpopular, cause.

As she approaches her 90th birthday, the battles Elliott has warned about for decades are unfolding again in classrooms and school boards across the country. In present day Temecula, CA, where her grandchildren attend school, Elliott stands with students and educators fighting a school-board agenda that seeks to restrict how race, racism, and history can be taught, to the detriment of their own students. Reuniting Elliott with former students from her original classroom exercise, the film also reveals the lasting impact, complexity, and controversy of a lesson that continues to shape how people talk about race, power, and education. Even after hard-won victories, the backlash returns, underscoring Elliott's warning that the fight for truth and justice is never over, and that it is the responsibility of those who hold power to create an America that lives up to its promise of an equal society for all.

FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "I first saw Jane Elliott as a teenager, watching The Oprah Winfrey Show from my childhood room in lower Manhattan. I had never seen a white person speak so directly to other white people about racism. Later, in a college psychology class, I studied her 'Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes' exercise and began to understand its impact in a different way. When Jane went viral again in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, something clicked. I reached out, not expecting a reply. She responded right away.

Over the next several years, I sat across from Jane in her living room, traveled with her, spent time with her family, and watched the battles she had been warning about for decades take shape again in public schools and school board fights. As a Jewish filmmaker, I felt a deep connection to Jane's insistence that silence and looking away carry consequences. What drew me to Jane was not only the force of her convictions, but her complexity. She is sharp, funny, uncompromising, and completely uninterested in being liked. The film also looks honestly at what that commitment has cost the people closest to her.

I wanted to make a film that connected Jane's history to the urgency of the present without turning her into a simple hero. As fights over race, censorship, and the teaching of American history intensify, her work feels less like a chapter from the past than a warning about where we are now. Jane has spent a lifetime insisting that progress is never permanent, that backlash often follows victory, and the fight has to continue."

— Judd Ehrlich

Preview link available upon request. Contact support@videoproject for more information

A Film by Judd Ehrlich

99 minutes

Scene Selection • Closed Captioned

Grades 8 - Adult

Item #: JAW-3002

Profiles legendary anti-racist educator Jane Eliott

Starting at $99

Community Screenings: Please Complete the screening request form to the left. Perpetual educational licensing available starting October 29, 2026

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Reviews and Festivals

"No one has in our times, in my view, the moral clarity of Jane Elliott about racism in America... It's an incredible film. One I'm very enthusiastic about."

— Matthew Carey, Deadline

"In reality, Elliott is very much for the world. She's trying to create a space that is more equal and just, and is frustrated that people would ignore an invitation to this new way of seeing"

— Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com

"A raw and unflinching glimpse into the life and career of a legendary educator... We are honored to award Jane Elliott Against the World the Best Documentary Award at the 2026 Bentonville Film Festival for its impeccable execution and its insistence that a better world is possible."

— Bentonville Film Festival Jury Statement

"The doc rises above typical social issue fare"

— Lauren Wissot, Filmmaker Magazine

"What makes Jane Elliott Against the World essential isn't nostalgia, it's confrontation... education is power, and power never concedes quietly... Final Grade: A"

— Derrick Dunn, Reviews and Dunn

"Her steadfast, righteous rage makes her a terrific on-screen subject... the film also recognizes what Elliott''s unswerving principles cost her... poking at what is worth sacrificing in an effort to make society change."

— Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly

"The complexity matters, keeping Jane Elliott Against the World from becoming a typical rah-rah activist doc... She's an inspiring subject... she makes you want to keep fighting, because you know she always will."

— Jason Bailey, Crooked Marquee

"Jane Elliott Against the World says the quiet part out loud... an exemplary job of letting us see Jane in the rawest form possible, professionally and personally, ridiculously timely and relevant for these turbulent times."

— Carla Renata, The Curvy Film Critic

"Jane Elliott Against the World is a powerful call to action, pushing you to do more than bear witness... to fight the good fight on a local level..."

— Ariana Martinez, Little Village

"Straddling a fine line between personality portrait and social documentary, Ehrlich's encompassing retrospective [...] pits the personal against the political in fascinating ways."

— Siddhant Adlakha, FilmFreeway Insider

"This film presents an affirming charge to keep on fighting... a wonderful inspiration for achieving a new way of thinking that could actually approach something like equity and justice."

— Abe Friedtanzer, AwardsBuzz

"Ehrlich finds multiple ways to reveal Elliott's passion and commitment [to] give a more multi-dimensional picture of a woman driven by a worthy lifelong mission."
— Leslie Combemale, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

"Judd Ehrlich gives us a gift... Powerful and imporant, especially now."

— Alise Chaffins, CherryPicks

"An extremely educational film"

— Dwight Brown, North Dallas Gazette

"Essential viewing for anyone who wants to think about what it means and what it takes to walk the talk."

— Sarah Manvel, Movie Marker

WINNER

Bentonville Film Festival, Jury Award, Best Documentary

Boulder International Film Festival, People's Choice Award: Feature Length Film

Sonoma International Film Festival, A3 Audience Award, Best Documentary

Cleveland International Film Festival, Roxanne T Mueller Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary Feature Film / Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition, Honorable Mention

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Sundance, World Premiere

Martha's Vineyard Film Festival

St Paul International Film Festival

Boulder International Film Festival

Independent Film Festival Boston

DocLands Documentary Film Festival

Telluride Mountainfilm

Millenium Docs Against Gravity

Doxumentale

Berkshire International Film Festival

Docaviv

Nantucket Film Festival

Vino Verite

Oak Cliff Film Festival

Lost Weekend Film Festival

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Jane Elliott Against the World

Select License (limited Public Performance Rights included)

Reviews and Festivals

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related subjects

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