Tracy Droz Tragos is a documentary filmmaker whose credits include the HBO film “Abortion: Stories Women Tell,” about personal stories of unplanned pregnancies, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, and “Rich Hill,” about at-risk teenagers living in her father’s hometown in rural Missouri, which won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Tragos’ first film, “Be Good, Smile Pretty,” won the Emmy Award for Best Documentary in 2004.

“The Smartest Kids in the World” will premiere at the 2018 DOC NYC film festival on November 11.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

TT: Based on Amanda Ripley’s best-selling book, “The Smartest Kids in the World” is about four teenage adventurers who are frustrated with their U.S. high schools and long for something more. All they know is that a different way of doing high school just might be better and they want to go abroad to find out. They have garage sales, apply for scholarship funding, and convince their parents to make it happen.

Sadie, Jaxon, Simone, and Brittany each embark on a year-long exchange in countries that dramatically outperform the United States in education – Switzerland, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Finland.

This film is the story of what they learned on their journeys. Ultimately, I hope the film will be an inspiration for American audiences that change is possible and that we can learn from other countries.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

TT: I have two daughters, the younger is still in elementary school and the older will start high school next year. When I read Amanda’s book, I had that “uh oh” feeling. I hadn’t been focusing on what really matters in my kids’ education. Both have done “so so” in math. And I really hadn’t paid much attention to it. All that has changed since I began making this film. I won’t describe myself as a tiger mom – but I have a renewed appreciation for rigor and what is at stake.

There is simply so much noise in our U.S. schools. It creates a brain-drain and lack of focus in parents and students, as well as teachers and administrators. So much that is asked of American school communities doesn’t actually impact the bottom line of learning or make our classrooms more successful. There are so many fundraisers, bake sales, athletic and school-spirit events that the actual hard work of learning and collaboration that happens in the classroom takes a back-seat. It can leave everyone confused about what matters, and ultimately uninspired.

But what drew me to this story goes beyond my daughters and their experience. The film is about all our students, all our kids who have potential, whose brains are ready to learn, whose ambitions are high and who too often lose hope and give up. What could we be doing differently? Why not look to other countries for ideas and inspiration?

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

TT: I want audiences to walk away with an appreciation of the importance of education and of how motivated and full of potential students are. Despite their backgrounds, whether they come from the Bronx or rural Maine, students are fully capable and deserve to be valued and supported.

Too often, students are not listened to: their voices are not heard and their ideas are ignored. I want the audience to think about that and about what they — and we — might do differently.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

TT: Ha! Not to be flip – but what wasn’t a challenge? This film was broader in scope than anything I previously tackled. We had to travel around the U.S. before students finished their school year at home and then travel overseas during their exchange. There was so much travel in the span of 12 months — it was a herculean undertaking. Not to mention getting access to schools, all the languages, passports, equipment, and time zones, and having students willing to have us follow them around when they were not always comfortable or 100 percent sure in what they were doing.

While I am thrilled to have had the opportunity, I’m not going to say it didn’t take a toll on me physically and on my relationship with my family. There was a lot of, “Well, you’re never home! How would you know?” I’m still digging out of that hole and trying to catch up on my sleep.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

TT: Amanda Ripley is an Emerson Collective fellow. She approached me about turning her book into a film, and then we approached Emerson Collective. It started out with a development phase, to see if we could pull it off and were headed in the right direction. From there, Emerson Collective liked what they saw, and came through with the rest.

It makes a big difference to work on a fully funded film, especially when you have an aggressive timeline and so much crazy travel. I got to focus on filmmaking versus fundraising, which is a huge gift. Rattling the cup is not my favorite thing – but I have to do it a lot!

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

TT: I never knew my father growing up as he was killed in the Vietnam War when I was a baby. I watched a lot of Vietnam movies and because of that, I felt like I knew something about him. Sitting in a dark theater, the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, I could cry and feel a connection to him and his experience. The notion that I could see and feel what he might have felt, that I could be transported in time – that was the inspiration for me to become a filmmaker.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

TT: Several years ago, I attended an Ava DuVernay talk and heard her speak about taking off “the cloak of desperation.” Just taking it off and getting to work. I think that’s pretty great advice which I think about often. Even though the business is hard and filmmaking is hard, all you can be is yourself and committed to your work. Self-pity doesn’t help in movie-making – no one owes me anything. I owe it to myself.

The worst advice was probably to go work at an agency after film school. I got my M.F.A. in screenwriting from USC – and I always knew I wanted to write and direct and had an interest on documentary filmmaking. But I had to pay the bills and heard that working in an agency was the best way to learn the business. Honestly, it turned me off more than anything – and was 10 months of my life I can never get back!

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

TT: Do whatever you can to live as small as possible, to keep your overhead down, so that everything you do can go towards your craft. Every day, do something that makes you a “maker” and “creator” and keeps you in the arena.

Oh and listen to everything Ava writes or says – just do the work. That’s the best comeback to naysayers. And you’ll get better at your craft as you keep on moving forward.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

TT: Can I say that I hate this question? My answer always changes, because there are so many great films that should be seen – and there are too many to list, including Sara Dosa’s “The Last Season,” Freida Lee Mock “Anita” and “Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.” I admire so many seasoned filmmakers and first-time filmmakers. Most recently, Maisie Crow’s “Jackson.” I love Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson,” and “Stories We Tell” by Sarah Polley.

In an age of reality TV and social media saturation, sometimes documentary subjects can simply be camera-spoiled and in it for the wrong reasons or, worse, documentary films can feel like they are taking advantage of their subjects. Are we being manipulated?

There is something that appeals to me about personal documentary filmmaking, where the filmmaker is part of her documentary – and if she is manipulating, it is herself. There is no moral quandary as an audience member. There is no question of appropriation or whose story it is to tell – it is hers, without any challenge. And for me, the honesty of that is thrilling.

W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?

TT: I have been so nose down in my work that I haven’t noticed a big change. But I hope I will see it. I certainly feel a sadness – for myself and for others – about how many more films and stories could have been told had we only had a chance to work sooner and more often. I was in my early 30s when I made my first film; so many guys in their 20s in my MFA class had agents and managers and jobs right out of film school.

I was seriously so close to giving up. How many filmmakers did give up? It’s a sobering thought.