20 movies like Sarafina!, ordered by similarity : Uncommon(2014), Lady Bird(2017), American Wrestler: The Wizard(2016), Words and Pictures(2013), Song for a Raggy Boy(2003), The Browning Version(1994), The Forgotten Kingdom(2013), Fame(1980), The Class(2008), Machuca(2004), Home Room(2003), Kids in America(2005) ...
Musical, Drama
South Africa|UK|France|USA
1992
98 Minutes
Leleti Khumalo Whoopi Goldberg Miriam Makeba John Kani Mbongeni Ngema Dumisani Dlamini Tertius Meintjes Nhlanhla Ngema
student teacher mother racist principal police officer uplifting rousing profound south africa school street apartheid protest school struggle race relations growing up sacrifice discovery
South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.
Drama
USA
2014
106 Minutes
Erik Estrada Ben Davies Irma P. Hall Courtney Buck Jason Crabb Wesley Elder Lucas Smissen Stacey Bradshaw Kelsey Brooks Stephanie Bettcher
student actor school principal schoolteacher god inspiring heartwarming uplifting lighthearted moving school high school united states the bible acting school play religion faith god struggle
Jesus combined diverse people and assorted stories to change the world! Now, He wants to use you! When the students of Rosewood High School lose their theater, music and dance departments ... See full summary »
Comedy, Drama
USA
2017
94 Minutes
Saoirse Ronan Laurie Metcalf Timothée Chalamet Lucas Hedges Tracy Letts Odeya Rush Jake McDorman Beanie Feldstein Lois Smith Stephen McKinley Henderson Jordan Rodrigues
mother daughter teenager high-school student best friend teacher father moving uplifting playful california high school catholic school sacramento, calif. family home university united states prom mother/daughter relationship coming of age
In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
Drama
USA
2016
117 Minutes
Jon Voight William Fichtner Lia Marie Johnson George Kosturos Kevin G. Schmidt Gabriel Basso Shannon Collis Courtney Hope Turner Nicholas Guilak
high-school student wrestler hero school principal team member coach emotional engaging heartwarming inspiring moving touching small town california high school gym school bus wrestling new school new town
In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team.
Romance, Comedy, Drama
USA|Canada|Australia
2013
111 Minutes
Clive Owen Juliette Binoche Amy Brenneman Bruce Davison Keegan Connor Tracy Adam DiMarco Valerie Tian Eva Allan Janet Kidder David Lewis Josh Ssettuba
woman man teacher art teacher english teacher student brooding charming emotional intense moving quirky witty uplifting prep school school america competition love courtship
An art instructor and an English teacher form a rivalry that ends up with a competition at their school in which students decide whether words or pictures are more important.
Drama
Ireland|UK|Denmark|Spain
2003
98 Minutes
Aidan Quinn Iain Glen Marc Warren Dudley Sutton Alan Devlin Stuart Graham John Travers Chris Newman
school principal schoolboy schoolteacher prefect irishman teacher friend rival bully intense sad emotional endearing ireland school teaching school abuse sadism courage
The true story of a single teacher's courage to stand up against an untouchable prefect's sadistic disciplinary regime and other abuse in a Catholic Reformatory and Industrial School in 1939 Ireland.
Drama
UK
1994
97 Minutes
Albert Finney Greta Scacchi Matthew Modine Julian Sands Michael Gambon Ben Silverstone Maryam d'Abo Jim Sturgess
husband wife teacher lover student schoolboy schoolteacher gripping engaging school england boarding school marriage career failed marriage affair education retirement transformation discovery
On the verge of forced resignation, a strict old-fashioned teacher rethinks his life.
Romance, Drama
USA
2013
97 Minutes
Jerry Mofokeng Nozipho Nkelemba Zenzo Ngqobe Lillian Dube Moshoeshoe Chabeli Lebohang Ntsane Jerry Phele
young man childhood friend schoolteacher estranged father orphan priest confident emotional engaging profound passionate south africa slum johannesburg, south africa village bus south africa discovery growing up memories
What if the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on account of a horrific experiment gone awry?
Musical
USA
1980
134 Minutes
Irene Cara Eddie Barth Lee Curreri Laura Dean Paul McCrane Barry Miller Gene Anthony Ray Maureen Teefy Antonia Franceschi Anne Meara Albert Hague
dancer singer actor parent teacher student uplifting inspiring emotional spirited creative new york city school street stage studio graduation abortion music failure
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Drama
France
2008
129 Minutes
François Bégaudeau Esmeralda Ouertani Rachel Regulier Franck Keita Wei Huang Agame Malembo-Emene Angélica Sancio Arthur Fogel
principal teacher student parent school principal engaging gripping profound spirited inspiring powerful school paris classroom playground education ethnic tension french language and literature connections leadership
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Drama
Chile|Spain|UK|France
2004
121 Minutes
Matías Quer Ariel Mateluna Manuela Martelli Aline Küppenheim Federico Luppi Ernesto Malbran Tamara Acosta Francisco Reyes Alejandro Trejo
schoolboy best friend father mother priest uncle intense moving chile boarding school street friendship growing up political unrest class distinctions politics education discovery growing up 1970s
Two 12-year-old Chilean children from different social classes become friends in 1973. They both discover each other's world as political tensions in their country increase.
Drama
USA
2003
132 Minutes
Busy Philipps Erika Christensen Victor Garber Holland Taylor Ken Jenkins James Pickens Jr.
high-school student teen girl murderer police officer murder suspect friend emotional profound gripping high school classroom hospital crime scene family home suspicion friendship recovery school shootings investigation coming of age
A high school shooting has repercussions on the town and students.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2005
89 Minutes
Gregory Smith Stephanie Sherrin Nicole Richie Malik Yoba Julie Bowen Caitlin Wachs Emy Coligado Chris Morris Alex Anfanger Adam Arkin George Wendt
high-school principal high-school student teacher friend love interest parent amusing uplifting high school gym household hospital jail authority free speech protest hypocrisy teamwork teen angst growing up
A diverse group of high school students band together to peacefully stick it to their overbearing principal.
Biography, Drama
USA
2015
129 Minutes
Kevin Costner Maria Bello Morgan Saylor Michael Aguero Sergio Avelar Hector Duran Rafael Martinez Martha Higareda Johnny Ortiz Carlos Pratts Ramiro Rodriguez
coach student runner teacher principal parent confident cool uplifting tense emotional california high school track gym car house track and field school winning
Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach, and at his new school he turns seven disappointing students into one of the best cross-country teams in the region.
Drama
USA
1955
107 Minutes
Jennifer Jones Robert Stack Kipp Hamilton Robert Douglas Peggy Knudsen Marshall Thompson Chuck Connors Biff Elliot Jerry Paris Mary Wickes
schoolteacher doctor police officer playwright banker convict melodramatic endearing small town school hospital school love respect memory illness growing up sacrifice 1950s
After her admission to the hospital, town-famous stern teacher Miss Dove nostalgically reminisces about her youth and about the pupils she taught over the years.
Drama
France|Switzerland|Germany
2004
97 Minutes
Gérard Jugnot François Berléand Kad Merad Jacques Perrin Jean-Baptiste Maunier Marie Bunel Jean-Paul Bonnaire Philippe du Janerand Maxence Perrin Didier Flamand Grégory Gatignol
boy single mother music teacher musical prodigy headmaster student uplifting amusing passionate france countryside boarding school music school coming of age childhood teaching choir discovery transformation
The new teacher at a severely administered boys' boarding school works to positively affect the students' lives through music.
Comedy, Drama
USA
1954
91 Minutes
Greer Garson Robert Ryan Barry Sullivan Richard Haydn Barbara Lawrence James Arness Rex Thompson Tim Considine David Stollery Frances Bergen Ian Wolfe
teacher student father professor widow classmate cheery heartwarming inspiring boarding school classroom dormitory gym student-teacher relationship disapproval boarding-school life school teaching new life underdog
An inexperienced female teacher is hired at a private elite school for boys where she raises a few eyebrows among the all-male faculty.
Documentary
USA
2016
85 Minutes
high school teacher high-school student family member co-worker friend parent fascinating emotional intense indianapolis school classroom house apartment store school second chance work poverty stress
A documentary about three students determined to graduate from their high school in Indianapolis, despite the fact that the institution has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country.
Horror, Sci-Fi
USA
1998
102 Minutes
Jordana Brewster Clea DuVall Laura Harris Josh Hartnett Shawn Hatosy Salma Hayek Famke Janssen Piper Laurie Christopher McDonald Bebe Neuwirth Robert Patrick
high-school student drug dealer teacher high-school principal cheerleader football player gory frightening creepy tense emotional intricate high school ohio locker room classroom possession alien invasion conformity high school
Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurrences.
Drama
USA|Hong Kong|Canada
2017
113 Minutes
Julia Roberts Owen Wilson Jacob Tremblay Izabela Vidovic Noah Jupe Nadji Jeter Daveed Diggs Mandy Patinkin Ali Liebert Emma Tremblay Millie Davis
boy family member friend teacher principal neighbor engaging uplifting confident moving heartwarming house town school classroom office car deformity acceptance self-esteem
Based on the New York Times bestseller, this movie tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Drama, Comedy
2014
110 Minutes
Nia Long Amy Smart Cocoa Brown Terry Crews William Levy Wendi McLendon-Covey Ryan Eggold Zulay Henao Tyler Perry Eddie Cibrian Sean Carrigan
single mother child professional worker teacher principal amusing confident creative school house apartment school dance fundraiser classroom bonding school single mothers parenthood stress
Brought together by their children's potential expulsion from school, diverse single mothers (Nia Long, Amy Smart, Cocoa Brown) form a support group to help one another overcome life's challenges.