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Will teachers offended by the crusading film “Waiting for Superman” make their voices heard? A first attempt has fizzled, so far.

The film’s negative portrayal of teachers unions has drawn criticism from, among others, teachers union president Randi Weingarten. So when Donors Choose, the website that helps match small donors with teachers seeking to fund classroom projects, sent out an email to its members asking them to pledge to see the film, a teacher who blogs at the site Accountable Talk was upset.

“Never mind that if the film makers get their way, you most likely won’t have a classroom or a job, so your need for project funding will be drastically reduced,” he wrote. He cancelled his membership with the site and urged others to do the same. A few other bloggers took up the call, and a Facebook group called “Boycott Donors Choose” currently has just over 35 members. (more…)

As the Sundance Film Festival kicks into high gear this afternoon, mingling among the movie stars and directors will be a New York education celebrity — the Harlem Children’s Zone’s Geoffrey Canada.

Canada is attending the Park City, Utah festival for today’s world premiere of “Waiting for Superman,” a new documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim, who won an Oscar in 2007 for helming the Al Gore climate change film “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Guggenheim’s film is one of two new documentaries that feature Harlem charter schools prominently and cast them in a glowing light. The other is “The Lottery,” which will be released in May and which follows a group of families seeking entrance into Eva Moskowitz’s Harlem Success Academies.

“Waiting for Superman” follows five children from around the country as they navigate the public schools system. None of them are Harlem Children’s Zone students, said an HCZ spokesman, Marty Lipp, but Canada offers commentary throughout the film. In an interview, Guggenheim calls Canada “perhaps the strongest voice” in the film. (more…)