FILM SCREENING: GIRL RISING

Length: 101 Minutes

Director: Richard E. Robbins

About The Documentary
The movie tells the stories of nine girls from different parts of the world who face arranged marriages, child slavery, and other heartbreaking injustices. Despite these obstacles, the brave girls offer hope and inspiration. By getting an education, they're able to break barriers and create change.

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 in it's 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, 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.

About Director
Richard E. Robbins is an American filmmaker and documentary maker, who has produced and directed several documentaries for ABC and PBS. The most notable is Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, which puts forward the perspective of American troops returning home from service in Iraq.[1] In January 2008, Robbins received an Academy Award nomination for the film as well as two Emmy nominations, and nominations from the International Documentary Association and the Directors Guild of America. He is also a noted producer, having produced several series for Peter Jennings Reporting, including Peter Jennings Reporting: LAPD and Peter Jennings Reporting: Dark Horizon – India, Pakistan, and the Bomb. He was a producer for the ABC special The Century: America's Time.

Awards and Nominations:
Outstanding Documentary - Theatrical at Image Awards
Outstanding Achievement in a Craft in News and Documentary Programming - Cinematography at Emmy Awards
Nicole Hirsch Whitaker (cinematographer) at Emmy Awards
Kiran Reddy (cinematographer) at CNN Films