20 movies like Freedom Writers, ordered by similarity : Lady Bird(2017), The Class(2008), Real Women Have Curves(2002), Uncommon(2014), Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire(2009), American Wrestler: The Wizard(2016), To Sir, With Love(1967), The Browning Version(1994), Her Twelve Men(1954), Sarafina!(1992), Blinded by the Light(2019), Words and Pictures(2013) ...
Drama
Germany|USA
2007
123 Minutes
Hilary Swank Patrick Dempsey Scott Glenn Imelda Staunton April Lee Hernandez Deance Wyatt Mario Vanetta Smith John Benjamin Hickey Pat Carroll Jason Finn
teacher student teenager principal mother inspiring uplifting los angeles school education empowerment poverty race relations growing up transformation 2000s
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
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
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.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2002
93 Minutes
America Ferrera Lupe Ontiveros Ingrid Oliu George Lopez Brian Sites Jorge Cervera Jr. Felipe de Alba Soledad St. Hilaire Lourdes Perez Jose Gerardo Zamora Jr. Manuel Edgar Lujan
student seamstress teacher grandmother mother latina inspiring moving los angeles workshop house high school education self-esteem virginity tradition family dysfunction race relations discovery growing up
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
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 »
Drama
USA
2009
109 Minutes
Gabourey Sidibe Mo'Nique Paula Patton Lenny Kravitz Mariah Carey Sherri Shepherd Xosha Roquemore Chyna Layne
teenager stepfather mother teacher uplifting inspiring intense school new york city ghetto abuse rape pregnancy poverty education transformation 2000s
In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
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.
Drama
UK
1967
105 Minutes
Sidney Poitier Judy Geeson Christian Roberts Suzy Kendall Lulu Faith Brook Geoffrey Bayldon Edward Burnham Gareth Robinson Grahame Charles Roger Shepherd
teacher juvenile delinquent headmaster student teen boy teen girl uplifting inspiring london classroom school education coming of age teaching student-teacher relationship growing up rise 1960s
Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
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.
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.
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, Music, Comedy
UK|USA|France
2019
114 Minutes
Viveik Kalra Hayley Atwell Rob Brydon Kulvinder Ghir Nell Williams Aaron Phagura Meera Ganatra Dean-Charles Chapman Sally Phillips
teenager father mother friend love interest teacher powerful uplifting inspiring hilarious cheeky england high school house bedroom new york city bruce springsteen music growing up culture
In England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.
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.
Kids & Family, Drama
USA
2006
112 Minutes
Laurence Fishburne Angela Bassett Keke Palmer Curtis Armstrong Tzi Ma Lee Thompson Young Dalia Phillips Craig Wasson J.R. Villarreal Sean Michael Sara Niemietz
young girl teacher bully principal single mother inspiring emotional los angeles school washington, d.c. inner city airplane friendship family birthdays competition education rivalry rise 2000s
A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Drama
USA
1989
128 Minutes
Robin Williams Robert Sean Leonard Ethan Hawke Josh Charles Gale Hansen Dylan Kussman Allelon Ruggiero James Waterston Norman Lloyd Kurtwood Smith Carla Belver
teacher student headmaster father best friend girlfriend cheery emotional inspiring moving sad school cave dorm classroom education friendship male bonding rebellion empowerment
Maverick teacher John Keating uses poetry to embolden his boarding school students to new heights of self-expression.
Drama
USA|UK
2003
100 Minutes
Holly Hunter Evan Rachel Wood Nikki Reed Jeremy Sisto Kip Pardue Sarah Clarke D.W. Moffett Vanessa Hudgens Jenicka Carey Ulysses Estrada
teen girl best friend mother foster mother boyfriend brother disturbing raw los angeles family home school troubled youth peer pressure mother/daughter relationship drugs sexual awakening shoplifting growing up transformation temptation
A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.
Drama
USA
2017
100 Minutes
Quinn Shephard Nadia Alexander Trieste Kelly Dunn Marcia DeBonis Tessa Albertson Sarah Mezzanotte Owen Campbell Luke Slattery Tate Donovan Chris Messina
student teacher teenager bully young woman lover brooding powerful raw shocking high school united states classroom forbidden love unlikely romance bullying rivalry student-teacher relationship high school crush love
A drama teacher's taboo relationship with an unstable student strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate, sparking a vengeful chain of events within their suburban high school that draws parallels to 'The Crucible'.
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.
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
Canada
2008
100 Minutes
Scott Speedman Devon Bostick Arsinée Khanjian Kenneth Welsh Rachel Blanchard Katie Boland Noam Jenkins Geraldine O'Rawe Hailee Sisera
student teacher uncle father mother emotional intense toronto canada terrorism family history deception school student-teacher relationship internet growing up discovery 2000s
For his French-class assignment, a high school student weaves his family history in a news story involving terrorism, and goes on to invite an Internet audience in on the resulting controversy.
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.