For most teenagers in the United States, going to school is routine, sometimes even viewed as a burden. But for teenage girls in many countries, going to school is a distant goal that requires overcoming immense challenges.
The film “Girl Rising” gives a sense of the barriers girls around the world face–and are breaking through–in their efforts to win an education and the chance to control their own lives.
The feature film will be shown Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. The event is free and open to the public.
“Girl Rising” tells the stories of nine girls born into lives of great hardship ranging from homelessness and poverty to forced servitude and natural disaster. Among those girls, according to the film’s website, is “Sokha, an orphan who rises from a life in the garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to become a star student and an accomplished dancer.” Suma (from Nepal), Ruksana (from India) and other girls from Peru, Egypt, Haiti, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone all share their dramatic struggles to break free of the conditions that limit their lives.
Support for 10×10
The film comes to Harvard through the work of Bromfield junior Alexia Lipman. Alexia first learned of “Girl Rising” when she saw its trailer on the website of the sponsoring organization, 10×10. Alexia is deeply involved with film-making. She works with the Bromfield film club and also produces her own short films. Last summer, she attended Socapa, a film arts program in New York City, and she expects to return for the advanced section of the program this year.
Directed by Academy Award-nominee Richard E. Robbins, “Girl Rising” features narration by leading actresses including Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Selena Gomez, and many others. The film’s premiere broadcast is scheduled for June on CNN Films.
“Girl Rising” is being shown nationwide as part of the work of 10×10, a nonprofit organization dedicated to a global effort to improve girls’ lives through education. The organization was founded by journalists and has achieved widespread recognition and support from groups such as CARE USA, Partners in Health, and Girl Up/UN Foundation. While the presentation at Bromfield is free, donations to 10×10 will be welcome.
