New documentary about one NI teacher determined to transform his students lives with the consolations of society

By Joanne Savage
Published 4th Jan 2023, 12:29 BST
Updated 4th Jan 2023, 12:39 BST
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The film, which follows Holy Cross Boys’ teacher Kevin McArevey, is hotly tipped for Oscar recognition

An extraordinary new documentary film called Young Plato, featruing the efforts of Holy Cross Boys’ teacher Kevin McArevey to enlighten his students with philosphy classes is gaining Oscar and BAFTA interest. It is the triumphant true story of the transformation of young, troubled student lives by a teacher as passionate as Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.

In a neighbourhood that has one of the highest youth suicide figures in Europe, radical headmaster Kevin McArevey has swayed his students from the influence of violence, poverty, and drugs with lessons on Socrates, Aristotle, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

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Directed by IFTA-Nominee Neasa Ní Chianáín (Frank Ned & Busy Lizzie, Fairytale of Kathmandu) and Declan McGrath (Lomax in Éirinn, Stephen: My Fight For Life) and produced by BAFTA winner David Rane (School Life, In Loco Parentis), Young Plato takes place in post-conflict Belfast’s Ardoyne. Amongst drug recruiters, street-crime and gang culture, the headmaster of Holy Cross Boys School wants his students to become free thinkers and believes that philosophy is the answer. At Holy Cross, teaching the students coping mechanisms,how to think lucidly and logically, how to develop self-respect, and how to deal with their intergenerational trauma is as valuable as maths and English.

Young Plato, which follows one inspirational NI headmaster as he attempts to enlighten them with the consolations of phiosophy is already tipped for Oscar and BAFTA gloryYoung Plato, which follows one inspirational NI headmaster as he attempts to enlighten them with the consolations of phiosophy is already tipped for Oscar and BAFTA glory
Young Plato, which follows one inspirational NI headmaster as he attempts to enlighten them with the consolations of phiosophy is already tipped for Oscar and BAFTA glory

Audiences are a fly on the wall as the eccentric teacher, who grew up locally and returned to help his community after his own struggles with mental health, teaches the boys to communicate their fears. Students replace physical conflict with intellectual debate, and apply the influence of philosophers to playground fistfights, illness, and parental disharmony. The result is extraordinary: the school is academically thriving, with the students who sit the 11-plus exam every year performing astoundingly well.

‘Young Plato is a heartfelt observation of the difference one teacher can make in the lives of his young students, and a particularly timely story as we continue to discuss the best ways to tackle toxic masculinity in the classroom and beyond.

Young Plato has already received four star reviews from both the Guardian and the Sunday Times and is tipped for Oscar recognition

Related topics:Belfast