Jane Elliott appears in Jane Elliott Against the World by Judd Ehrlich, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Sean Hanley. Image Source: Sundance
MFA Film alum Albin R. Pepe (CO’23) recently worked as editor on the documentary “Jane Elliott Against the World,” which just had its Sundance Film Festival Premiere in Park City, Utah. Congratulations!
Directed by Judd Ehrlich and produced by Flatbush Pictures, the film centers on Jane Elliott, and features Atlanta rapper and activist Killer Mike, Dr Ibram X Kendi, Dr. Yohuru Williams, biographer Todd Mealy, and New York Times writer Brianna Holt.
Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival:
“A rural Iowa schoolteacher becomes a national voice against racism after leading a controversial 1968 lesson in discrimination with her all-white third-grade class. Now nearly 90, she refuses to hold back amid today’s fights about race, history, and power after a lifetime of speaking out.
For more than 50 years, educator Jane Elliott has made it her mission to dismantle racism, regardless of the personal cost. She introduced her contentious “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” social experiment in the immediate aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination; subsequent media exposure — including the 1970 documentary The Eye of the Storm — took her lesson across the country. Back home in Riceville, Iowa, however, Elliott and her family faced a backlash that has left a lasting impact. As Judd Ehrlich’s compelling portrait demonstrates, she remains an unapologetic and outspoken force of nature, determined to use her privilege to effect change, especially now, when her message is needed the most. Jane Elliott Against the World is an urgent film for this moment — and Elliott isn’t about to quiet down.” — BT