Children of Chance

In the Belgian mining town of Cheratte, the young descendants of mostly non-Western migrant workers are getting ready for adult life outside the tight-knit community. They are under the inspired guidance of their teacher Brigitte Waroquier. At the start of the new school year, the experienced and worldly teacher welcomes a new sixth grade, the vast majority of which is Turkish. Many of the students' older cousins and even parents were also in Waroquier's class, and she knows each family intimately. Waroquier, her students and their parents are filmed for a year in and around the classrooms and on field trips. In addition to the standard lessons, Waroquier also covers more mature subjects such as the Brussels attacks, Islam, headscarves and Turkey—love, future plans and bullying get her attention as well. Filmmaker Thierry Micheltook students aside individually to talk about their plans for the future, their uncertainties and their lives at present. In these talks, it becomes apparent how some just repeat what their parents say. Others already think independently despite their young age—they are world citizens, proud of both their family background as well as the society they're growing up in.