Check out the trailer for TEN9EIGHT, a new film about the power of entrepreneurship to lift kids out of poverty and hopelessness--and into purposeful life. I got the trailer this morning in an email from the Templeton Foundation, which blurbs it thus:

A child drops out of high school in the U.S. every nine seconds, but it doesn’t have to be that way, according to a new film called TEN9EIGHT: Shoot for the Moon. The film tells the inspirational stories of several inner-city teens as they compete in an annual business-plan competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Both the film and the NFTE have received major grant support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Produced by the award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, TEN9EIGHT shows that when young people are given the opportunity to start their own businesses and take control of their futures, they can improve their academic performance and lift themselves out of even the most difficult circumstances. One of the students featured in the film is Rodney Walker, who was put into the foster care system at the age of 5 and ended up homeless on the streets of Chicago. During high school, he founded Forever Life Music and Video Productions, and he is now studying business as a freshman at Morehouse College. Another student in the film is Amanda Loyola, whose father escaped from the slums of Rio de Janeiro and brought his family to Brooklyn, where he worked at Burger King. Inspired by his example, Amanda started her own business, a vegetarian dog-treat company.

The final NFTE competition in New York City brings together 35 young entrepreneurs, chosen from over 24,000 participating students from across the country. The winner receives $10,000 to launch his or her own business. The finalists have the opportunity to interact with high-profile entrepreneurs like Arthur Blank, the founder of Home Depot; Tom Scott, the co-founder of Nantucket Nectars; and Kay Koplovitz, the founder of USA Network.