Corinne Cartaillac

An American Pastoral

Elizabethtown is a picturesque little town in rural Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. But behind the supposed US-American small-town idyll lies a deep political divide, which is particularly evident at the meetings of the local school board. It all began with a dispute over a ban on books in school libraries. But in reality it is about something much more fundamental: the question of the continued existence of secular democracy. In the conservative district, the local movement of right-wing extremist Christians now holds three seats on the school board and is gradually pushing the moderate Republicans to the sidelines. Five seats are at stake in the 2023 elections. With just two more seats, the right-wing extremists would have a majority on the board and could push through a new, theocratic program for the public schools in Elizabethtown. The documentary shows the commitment of some courageous citizens to democratic, censorship-free education.