Documentary backdrop image for The Circle (2023)

Documentary backdrop image for The Circle (2023)

2023108 minPGdocumentary

7.5/ 10(4 ratings)• TMDB

Education Family Dynamics

The Circle

2023108 minPGdocumentary

7.5/ 10(4 ratings)• TMDB

Five years of observation reveal the thoughts and feelings of primary school pupils in a multi-ethnic neighborhood through their unique perspectives.

Education Family Dynamics

Genres

Director

Sophie Chiarello

Synopsis

Five years of observation reveal the thoughts and feelings of primary school pupils in a multi-ethnic neighborhood through their unique perspectives.

People

Sophie Chiarello

Sophie Chiarellodirector

Sophie Chiarello

Sophie Chiarellowriter

Tito Amadeicast

Chiara Amalfitanocast

Pietro Noe Baffigocast

Synopsis

Children in a multi-ethnic neighborhood attend primary school over five years. Director Sophie Chiarello uses a low camera angle to capture their views of the adult world. The film presents their thoughts and feelings as they interact with peers and family. It focuses on their experiences and insights while they deal with social dynamics in their community. Chiarello's approach allows for a genuine portrayal of childhood today.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds (2022)

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds

Ten four-year-olds meet for the first time at a nursery, where they face challenges in forming friendships and managing their emotions.

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts (2021)

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts

The show reveals the secret life of 4-year-olds in a British nursery setting.

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us (2021)

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us

In a specially-designed nursery in the UK, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 years old.

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us

Child development: The early years explained (2021)

Child development: The early years explained

In a specially-designed nursery in the UK, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 years old.

Child development: The early years explained

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored (2022)

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored

The show reveals the secret life of 4 to 6-year-olds in a British nursery setting.

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored

The World at 10 (2017)

The World at 10

A Grade five class in Toronto's Lord Dufferin Public School features students from at least five different countries, each sharing their unique experiences.

The World at 10

Becoming 13 (2026)

Becoming 13

Three 12-year-old girls navigate the challenges of girlhood over a year, highlighting the significant roles of peer pressure and family influence.

Child learning and development (2022)

Child learning and development

In a specially-designed nursery, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 as they form friendships and navigate social hierarchies.

Child learning and development

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales (2025)

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales

In a rural pension house in the Philippines, 77-year-old Caridad Cerbito Morales navigates life as a widow while longing to reconnect with her estranged child.

The Receptionist: Caridad Cerbito Morales

A Pregnant Trans Man Faced His Greatest Fear During Childbirth (2026)

A Pregnant Trans Man Faced His Greatest Fear During Childbirth

A transgender father navigates the complexities of childbirth while confronting his greatest fears, alongside stories of unconventional relationships.

A Pregnant Trans Man Faced His Greatest Fear During Childbirth

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne (2026)

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne

In the Vologne Valley of Eastern France, the 1984 kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Gregory Villemin remains a chilling unsolved case marked by family jealousy and harassment from an anonymous figure known as "Le Corbeau."

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt (2026)

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt

Average rent in Mount Druitt is about $400 a week, leaving many families struggling to afford basic necessities like food and clothing.

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt

Explore The Circle

People Topics FAQ

Browse more like this

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds (2022)

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds

Ten four-year-olds meet for the first time at a nursery, where they face challenges in forming friendships and managing their emotions.

Inside the minds of 4-year-olds

No digital watch option in your country

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts (2021)

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts

The show reveals the secret life of 4-year-olds in a British nursery setting.

Secret life of 4-year-olds: Fascinating facts

No digital watch option in your country

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us (2021)

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us

In a specially-designed nursery in the UK, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 years old.

Factual learning: Discovering the world around us

No digital watch option in your country

Child development: The early years explained (2021)

Child development: The early years explained

In a specially-designed nursery in the UK, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 years old.

Child development: The early years explained

No digital watch option in your country

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored (2022)

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored

The show reveals the secret life of 4 to 6-year-olds in a British nursery setting.

The wonder years: 5 and 6-year-olds explored

No digital watch option in your country

Becoming 13 (2026)

Becoming 13

Three 12-year-old girls navigate the challenges of girlhood over a year, highlighting the significant roles of peer pressure and family influence.

No digital watch option in your country

Child learning and development (2022)

Child learning and development

In a specially-designed nursery, hidden cameras capture the social and emotional development of children aged 4 to 6 as they form friendships and navigate social hierarchies.

Child learning and development

No digital watch option in your country

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne (2026)

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne

In the Vologne Valley of Eastern France, the 1984 kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Gregory Villemin remains a chilling unsolved case marked by family jealousy and harassment from an anonymous figure known as "Le Corbeau."

Who Killed Little Gregory Villemin? | The Curse of the Vologne

No digital watch option in your country

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt (2026)

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt

Average rent in Mount Druitt is about $400 a week, leaving many families struggling to afford basic necessities like food and clothing.

400 a Week for Rent & Nothing Left: Surviving in Mount Druitt

No digital watch option in your country

Charm Circle (2023)

Charm Circle

2023•1h19m•★8.0TMDB

In 79 minutes, Nira Burstein's film presents the Glick family's life in New York City through home videos and recent footage, revealing their evolving relationships.

Childhood (2017)

Childhood

2017•1h25m•★6.4TMDB

Children in a rural Norwegian kindergarten spend a year engaging in outdoor learning, demonstrating how nature influences their development.

Children of Utopia (2019)

Children of Utopia

2019•1h23m•★10.0TMDB

Six children reunite in Berlin twelve years after attending an inclusive school, sharing their experiences with the German education system.

Children of Utopia

School of Babel (2014)

School of Babel

2014•1h29m•★6.6TMDB

Eleven to fifteen-year-old students from Ireland, Serbia, Brazil, Tunisia, China, and Senegal learn French together in a classroom in France.

School of Babel

Child of Nature (2021)

Child of Nature

2021•1h30m•★10.0TMDB

Five young individuals from 15 countries confront challenges like poverty and education, driving change in their communities through their actions.

Child of Nature

The Movement of Things (1985)

The Movement of Things

1985•1h30m•★8.1TMDB

Three families in a northern village navigate daily life, with Isabel looking toward the future while others find meaning in their routines.

The Movement of Things

Berg Fidel (2012)

Berg Fidel

2012•1h27m•★6.0TMDB

Four children at an inclusive primary school in Münster share their dreams and concerns over three years, revealing a harmonious school environment.

Young Solitude (2018)

Young Solitude

2018•1h40m•★6.4TMDB

Teenagers aged 16 to 18 engage in candid conversations during their high school experience in the suburbs of Paris.

Becoming You (2020)

Becoming You

2020•1h27m•★2.7TMDB

Over 100 children from different cultures share their experiences from birth to age five in an 87-minute look at early childhood development.

Choosing Children (1984)

Choosing Children

1984•45m•★4.0TMDB

Forty-five minutes of candid interviews reveal the challenges faced by lesbian and gay parents in the United States during the 1980s.

Choosing Children

The Pathan Sisters (2023)

The Pathan Sisters

2023•1h16m•★9.0TMDB

Two teenage sisters in Gujarat, India, confront the lasting impact of the 2002 anti-Muslim riots while striving to build a brighter future.

The Pathan Sisters

Planet of the Children (1992)

Planet of the Children

1992•1h2m•★6.0TMDB

A meticulously staged wedding ceremony opens a 62-minute look at a Cuban educational experiment where children take on all adult roles.

Planet of the Children

Browse more by Sophie Chiarello

View all films →

Attitudini: Nessuna (2025)

Attitudini: Nessuna

2025

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →