Girl Rising

Have you heard about Girl Rising? It's "an innovative new feature film about the power of education to change a girl – and the world." (The producer and creative director, Martha Adams, is one of my sister-in-law Rachel's best friends. Small world.)

 

If and when it comes to your city, please check it out! In Denver, people have to reserve enough tickets ahead of time to make it a go so it's important to get the word out.

 

Here's a trailer (not appropriate for children).

 

From Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins and the award-winning producers of The Documentary Group and Vulcan Productions, strategic partner, Intel Corporation, and distribution partners CNN Films and Gathr, comes Girl Rising - an innovative new feature film about the power of education to change a girl – and the world. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez and other A-list actresses contribute voice performances to the film, which features original music from Academy Award winner Rachel Portman, in collaboration with Lorne Balfe. The film spotlights unforgettable girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from the dumps of Cambodia to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who composes music to help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian “pavement-dweller” whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter’s dreams. Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country. Edwidge Danticat, Sooni Taraporevala, Aminatta Forna, and others tell the girls’ stories, each with its own style, and all with profound resonance. These girls are each unique, but the obstacles they faced are ubiquitous. Like the 66 million girls around the world who dream of going to school, what Sokha, Suma, Ruksana and the rest want most is to be students: to learn. And now, by sharing their personal journeys, they have become teachers. Watch Girl Rising, and you will see: One girl with courage is a revolution.