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If You Build It

Play trailer Poster for If You Build It Released Jan 10, 2014 1h 22m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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78% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Designer Emily Pilloton and architect Matt Miller go to a struggling community in North Carolina to teach high-school students about their craft.

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If You Build It

Critics Reviews

View All (27) Critics Reviews
Tirdad Derakhshani Philadelphia Inquirer An inspiring, educational, highly enjoyable documentary from director Patrick Creadon, best known for 2008's I.O.U.S.A., which chronicled America's less-than-healthy fiscal condition. Rated: 3/4 Mar 7, 2014 Full Review Loren King Boston Globe The film is about innovation inside and outside the classroom and the transformative power of good teaching. Rated: 3/4 Feb 27, 2014 Full Review Walter V. Addiego San Francisco Chronicle [Creadon] probably errs on the side of advocacy here. But give him credit for acknowledging that idealistic endeavors don't always pay off. Rated: 3/4 Feb 27, 2014 Full Review Bernard Boo Way Too Indie It's a limited viewpoint of a much larger, high-stakes issue. Rated: 6/10 Apr 3, 2019 Full Review Nguyên Lê The Script Lab It's joyful upon seeing the kids realize there's a humanitarian angle to all this and discover they can do more than what the run-down surroundings dictate to them. Oct 10, 2018 Full Review Marty Mapes Movie Habit Unorthodox shop class says if you build it, it will mean something to you Rated: 3/4 May 15, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (6) audience reviews
Audience Member If You Build It - 4 out of 5 - A beautiful quick Documentary about to teachers trying a new kind of design class its quite interesting Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Curtis C Interesting, but not a good movie. The audience score has to be fabricated. No pun intended. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/08/18 Full Review Audience Member Teach a man to fish rather than give a man a fish...great film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A documentary with tons of heart "If You Build It" is worth a watch. Telling the story of an impoverished small town, and revolutionary architects who come to teach high schoolers, it is impossible to not fall in love with all of the main characters. The end result is astonishing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A really nice doc on a very fascinating idea. It's a great showcase for teamwork and how we could be using education in better and more productive areas rather than sitting students down for over the top math classes that have limited use for most students taking the classes. Here is where you can teach students how to do math for real situations rather than for a test. Overall, it isn't the most compelling documentary but an interesting one at best Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful film supporting small town public education and helping a small town get back in its feet. Of course when a town has people who don't want to help themselves.... Would have been a better experience if friends of the producers weren't playing on their phones the ENTIRE movie!! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
If You Build It

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Designer Emily Pilloton and architect Matt Miller go to a struggling community in North Carolina to teach high-school students about their craft.
Director
Patrick Creadon
Producer
Christine O'Malley, Neal Baer
Distributor
Long Shot Factory
Production Co
O'Malley Creadon Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 10, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.9K
Runtime
1h 22m
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