By MAMAMIA TEAM
There is one group of people on earth that suffer more persecution than any other. And that group, is girls.
Girls who have to worry about how they and their family will cope financially, after losing their father in the war in Afghanistan. Girls who have to worry about how their marriage to a 39 year-old man will turn out, when they are aged are only 19. Girls who have to worry about whether they will be able to deliver their baby into the world safely.
Girls who face threats to their lives. Every. Single. Day.
I Am A Girl is a documentary that finally sheds some much needed light on some of those stories. Funded by philanthropic grants and donations, the film highlights six real stories from six real girls.
It explores what it really means to be a girl in the 21st century – whether you live in Australia, Papua New Guinea, America, Afghanistan, Cambodia or Cameroon. And what it really means? Is terrifying.
Director and producer Rebecca Barry summed it up best when she said, “The cold hard reality is that if you are born a girl in this world today, in every measurable way you will be at a disadvantage. Yet in spite of these obstacles, girls have found extraordinary ways to persevere.”
I Am a Girl opens today (28th August) and goes until 1st September at the Chauvel Cinema in Sydney and on 5th-8th September at Cinema Nova in Melbourne. Buy your tickets here or at cinemas.
Top Comments
For those who want to watch it outside of a cinema environment, there's a screening at a cafe/bar/gallery - Thousand Pound Bend - in Melbourne on the 22nd of September. Tickets available here: http://www.girlart.com.au/
I saw the premiere of this film on Wednesday night and have been thinking about it a lot since then. I can't wait to see it again this weekend: it's a beautifully shot, compelling and confronting film. It is a clear portrayal of how our society is based upon the oppression of women, and highlights the incredible strength of girls and women to persevere regardless.