5 GIRLS Campaign Overview Girls National Broadcast Premiere on P.O.V./PBS: October 2, 2001

5 5 GIRLS Campaign Overview girls National Broadcast Premiere on P.O.V./PBS: October 2, 2001

community 5 GIRLS — The Film The world is full of smart, resilient girls, but we don’t often engagement hear about them. From the production company that made HOOP DREAMS, campaign 5 GIRLS shows girls as the heroes of their own lives. Shot over the course of three years, the documentary tracks the lives of Aisha, Amber, Corrie, Haibinh, and Toby as they move through their tumultuous teenage years. With Chicago as its backdrop, everything from hairstyles to first loves to poverty and dealing with being an immigrant comes to the fore in this tightly woven story. Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes. By Maria Finitzo/Kartemquin Educational Films

5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign is a national effort to focus public attention on girls and young women. Designed by Active Voice, and using the P.O.V. broadcast and subsequent distribution of 5 GIRLS as a hook, the campaign helps girls’ organizations to build capacity and coalitions, and encourages intergenerational dialogue and girls’ expression. The campaign aims to:

• Support service providers Shine light on community resources available to girls. Help communities and institutions “map the assets” and services available to girls. Foster coalition-building among groups concerned about girls. • Connect girls with the people in their lives Give families a vehicle for “breaking the ice” by providing a safe context for dialogue. Empower girls by encouraging feedback, peer support, and personal expression. Encourage conversations between genders, generations, races, and economic classes about girls’ contributions, needs, roles, and rights, and move those conversations to action. • Engage general audiences Inform the public of the ways girls learn to be strong, resilient citizens. Publicize resources, information, and opportunities for girls, parents, and other adults who care about girls.

5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign National Partners American Psychological Association — www.apa.org Dads and Daughters — www.dadsanddaughters.org National Association for Commissions on Women — www.nacw.org National Coalition of Girls’ Schools — www.ncgs.org Women’s Funding Network — www.wfnet.org ➙

Active Voice 2601 Mariposa Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415.553.2841 [email protected]

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation The 5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign is led by: Active Voice Active Voice is a nonprofit team that helps groups use social issue television programs and films as tools for community building, citizen engagement and partnershipdevelopment. Active Voice grows out of the Television Race Initiative — a media model based on creative collaborations among public television stations, community organizations, civil rights leaders, interfaith networks, independent film and series producers, and foundations. Since 1998, the team has used selected broadcasts as a framework for sustained community dialogue and problem solving on race relations and other social issues. For more information, visit www.pbs.org/pov/tvraceinitiative, e-mail us at [email protected], or call (415) 553-2841.

P.O.V. P.O.V. is PBS’s award-winning showcase for independent nonfiction film. Since 1988, P.O.V. has explored the potential of media in public life, amplifying its broadcasts with pioneering media innovation, interaction, and impact. Through a range of energetic broadcast-related activities, P.O.V. uses all media platforms to connect citizens to ideas, services, and each other on contemporary issues. See www.pbs.org/pov.

Kartemquin Films Kartemquin Films has a 35-year history of producing critically acclaimed social issue documentaries. Recent award winners include HOOP DREAMS, GOLUB, and VIETNAM, LONG TIME COMING. Kartemquin’s films have been used by educational institutions, community organizations, and individual families to better understand a changing world. For more information, visit www.kartemquin.com.

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation Film Synopsis girls5 The world is full of smart, resilient girls, but we don’t often hear about them. From Maria Finitzo and the production company that made HOOP DREAMS, 5 GIRLS community shows girls as the heroes of their own lives. Shot over the course of three years, the engagement documentary tracks the lives of Aisha, Amber, Corrie, Haibinh, and Toby as they move through their tumultuous teenage years. With Chicago as its backdrop, everything from campaign hairstyles to first loves to poverty and dealing with being an immigrant comes to the fore in this tightly woven story.

Aisha’s parents are divorced. In the words of her father, Derek, she is “a diamond in the rough, that I will polish and make shine.” Derek has big dreams for his daughter and has dedicated his whole life to making sure nothing and no one gets in the way of those dreams. Aisha has her own dreams as well — 16-year-old girl dreams. Sometimes they’re about boys, sometimes about basketball, sometimes just about growing up and learning to be on your own.

Amber and her mother got into an argument on her 16th birthday, which ended with Amber leaving home. She never returned. The filmmakers followed her story as she finally ended up living in a house on the west side of Chicago. Lonely and looking for someone to care about her, she found a willing companion in Antoine, 20 years old and living under house arrest. But Amber managed to survive, go to school, stay on the honor roll and get accepted to the University of Illinois.

Corrie is openly bisexual at a time in her life when most kids are trying desperately to fit in. Her passion for politics and human rights is something her peers don’t share, let alone understand. Her desire for authenticity separates her from the mainstream, making her life a bit lonely at times. Since her parents’ divorce, Corrie and her mother have become very close. Her father, a devout Christian, cannot come to grips with her sexuality.

Haibinh and her family left Vietnam seven years ago when she was 10 years old. Her parents left behind everything they valued, including their place in a culture they loved. In exchange, they gave their four daughters the opportunity for education.

Toby’s life is set in the landscape of privilege. She goes to one of the best schools around. She studies music and art, travels extensively with her parents, and has available to her a wealth of resources. And yet, her story is not a fairytale. In every aspect of her life, she is surrounded by the “exceptional.” Her parents are respected doctors and her friends are the elite. She feels a great deal of pressure to live up to the expectations of those around her.

5 GIRLS will be a special presentation of the award-winning nonfiction PBS series P.O.V. on October 2, 2001 at 9:00 p.m. (check local listings).

“Their struggles are recognizable to all girls, and the themes that weave through the film are quintessentially adolescent ones — but from a gendered perspective.” — Lyn Mikel Brown, Co-author, Meeting at the Crossroads 5 August 2001 girls Dear Friends, Thank you so much for participating in the 5 GIRLS Community Engagement community Campaign, a national effort to focus public attention on girls and young women. engagement The 5 GIRLS Community Action Kit was developed to support a wide range of campaign organizations that care about girls and that want to use the 5 GIRLS P.O.V./PBS national broadcast and subsequent distribution as a strategic hook. Enclosed are: • Campaign overview and film synopsis • “What You Can Do in Your Community” • “Using Media to Mobilize Your Community” — tips, instructions for coordinating with the national media team, sample press release, sample letters • Discussion guides • P.O.V. press release for 5 GIRLS • Relevant facts about girls and young women • Networks and resources • “Delve Deeper” multimedia resource list from the American Library Association • “Staying Connected: A Guide for Parents on Raising an Adolescent Daughter,” produced by the American Psychological Association How to use the kit Whether you are a public television station or girl-serving organization, you should begin by reviewing the campaign overview and “What You Can Do in Your Community.” Then, depending on what seems most relevant to your organization, you can turn to the other tools created to help you plan activities, such as “Using Media to Mobilize Your Community” or the discussion guides. Public television stations should examine the list of networks and resources to begin brainstorming possible community partners. For additional information and resources related to the 5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign, be sure to visit www.pbs.org/pov/5girls, which will include an in-depth list of resources related to girls and young women. As you know, organizing community events and media campaigns takes time, so if you have any questions or need additional information, please call us right away at (415) 553-2841. We appreciate the time and energy you are investing in this endeavor, and congratulate you on the work you are doing to serve and advocate on behalf of girls and young women.

Sincerely,

The Active Voice Team

Active Voice P.S. We need your feedback! Please be sure to fill out and return the enclosed 2601 Mariposa Street questionnaire. Knowing what worked for you will help us be more effective in the San Francisco, CA 94110 future. Also, send us copies of any letters you receive that mention 5 GIRLS 415.553.2841 as well as clips from newsletters or local newspapers. [email protected] 5 Thinking Through Differences: A 5 GIRLS Discussion Guide girls Introduction This companion guide to 5 GIRLS will help facilitate a discussion with the girls and community women in your own agency or within your community. In this guide, we share with you engagement some of the concepts that we’ve found useful to think about before beginning our own campaign conversations, plus five sets of questions and exercises for you to use in discussions. Each exercise has a slightly different angle. Choose the exercise and set of questions that best fits your style and your group’s format or composition.

The discussion questions and activities in this guide will work especially well for: • Staff development or volunteer training within your organization • Intergenerational dialogue (You might find it helpful to separate the girls and adults at various points to make sure you provide a safe space for dialogue.) • An “ice breaker” for community dialogue focused on the needs of girls

We hope you find this guide a useful tool for thinking about all the ways there are to be a girl today. Consider taking notes about what you observed in the group discussion to ponder and return to later, and also consider leading the discussion with another adult partner. Good luck and have fun!

A Few Concepts • Social location 5 GIRLS shows that there is no typical girl; no one girl or even five girls can really represent all girls. Every girl is a unique individual, but she also is a member of several different groups. A girl’s race, religion, sexual orientation, family, neighborhood, and access to financial resources — in other words, her social location — often influence what expectations she has of herself and what expectations other people, or the larger society, have of her.

Some aspects of a girl’s social location can change over time. For example, her family may inherit a lot of money and she might become wealthy after having been working class. Her parents might get divorced and her family might suddenly struggle with money as well as tense relations. Or a girl might hate boys in fourth grade and then like them by tenth grade. Or maybe even like girls. Each change, including simply getting older and growing up, means changes for her social location.

On the way to becoming adult women, most girls learn that there are certain ways of dressing, talking, and behaving that get rewarded. Often these depend on a girl’s social location and are out of her control. It’s important to help girls figure out which things are within their control and which are not, what their goals are, how they are similar to and different from other girls, and what aspects of their lives or culture they think deserve criticism.

The best way a girl (or a group of girls) can understand where she stands and what her options are — in her family, school, or the larger society — is by communicating with others, building friendships, setting and prioritizing goals, and consulting wise people. These are things that are within a girl’s control and do not depend on her social location. Adults who discuss issues such as how one Active Voice 2601 Mariposadetermines Street who is wise and who is not, what makes for a good friend, or how to seek out the people San Francisco,and resources CA 94110 necessary to attain personal goals can give girls a sense of control as they make 415.553.2841important decisions in their lives. ➙ [email protected]

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation • Meritocracy The exercises below are intended to encourage discussion about difference and social location. One place to begin that discussion is with the concept of meritocracy. Most people in the United States believe the country operates as a meritocracy in which any hard-working, determined person can succeed. The other part of this belief is that those who do not succeed are weak or lazy and do not deserve rewards. Although hard work definitely explains some successes in people’s lives, it does not explain how people’s privileged social location can help them or how their difference from the dominant group might hinder them. In fact, the belief that the United States is a meritocracy obscures the complex ways that society operates. In 5 GIRLS, all five girls “succeed” because they are strong, bold, and determined, and yet they begin in different places, travel different roads, and face different challenges. Their stories underscore the fact that different girls need different support networks and several kinds of knowledge to be successful in today’s world. We struggled with our own ideas about success as we wrote this guide. What are your opinions about how to achieve success? Did anything you saw in 5 GIRLS confirm or challenge your ideas?

Exercises and Discussion Questions

The following discussion questions are designed to show the importance of social location as well as individual and group difference. While it’s important for girls to appreciate their similarities, we don’t want them to be afraid or unaware of their differences. As girls grow up, they need to develop a realistic sense of the world around them and appreciate that other girls belong to groups that often make their lives very different from their own. Most important, girls should have a positive sense of themselves as people who can face challenges and know when to ask for advice and who to turn to.

1. Before showing the film, divide your group into different smaller groups and give each a “lens” through which to watch the film, or a “voice” to listen for. For example, ask one small group to think about race — to jot down signs of racism, racial advantage, or simply cultural difference. Another group might look for sexism, another sexual identity and homophobia, and another class privilege and classism. Considering Haibinh, another group could think about nationality and how people respond to recent immigrants. Give each small group time to discuss its observations. When the small groups come back and report to the larger group, combine their observations and examples into one list that everyone can see. Open the floor for discussion of each “ism” and how it affects the individual girls in the film, before moving on to the next group.

2. Before viewing 5 GIRLS, have people write freely or brainstorm for a few minutes about what it means to be successful and how one becomes “a success.” What does a girl need to accomplish to feel or be successful? What kinds of success can be seen and what kinds of success are harder to see? Return to these thoughts after watching the film and use them as a way to talk about the girls’ different lives and how it affects what they accomplish during the two years. For example, Amber and Corrie begin in such different places. Corrie can take certain things for granted in terms of her financial situation and her racial identity that Amber cannot take for granted, and yet they both succeed. Consider how the girls might experience and define success differently within the different parameters of their lives. ➙

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation 3. After viewing the film, divide the group into five small groups. Assign each group one girl from the film and ask the members of the group to respond to the following questions: What are the three most visible struggles, problems, or challenges for the girl to which your group is assigned? What are the three most important positive qualities or strengths of your girl? After the groups have talked for 10-15 minutes, bring the groups together and explore the differences between the lists. Together consider why these differences might exist. Give the group members some time again to write freely or brainstorm with a partner, this time about their own individual challenges and strengths. Offer them a space to share them if they want to before closing the discussion. Suggest that they think about their differences from and similarities to the girls in the film on their own after the discussion is over.

4. Encourage your group to consider the significant adults in each of their lives — mothers, fathers, teachers, clergy, neighbors, extended family members. Have them list those adults who are most influential to them, in positive and negative ways. Then together discuss the film and the five girls’ relationships with the adults in their lives and the messages they receive about how to resist or respond to the challenges they face. Are their relationships with fathers different from those with mothers, and if so, how? How do relationships with fathers or mothers vary or differ among the girls? How would you characterize these differences or the reasons for them and what effect do they have on the girls’ lives? What role do other significant adults play? This is a “close-to-the-bone” exercise, so we suggest hanging around afterwards in case the discussion has raised some things for a person or two in your group who might want to talk further with you after the large group discussion has ended.

5. Consider the fact that what it means to be a good or proper girl sometimes differs depending on your race, class, religion, or nationality. Before watching the film, ask the girls in your group what it means to be feminine or to be a “good” girl or a “perfect” girl. Jot their answers on a flip-chart or chalk board. Take some time to discuss where these ideas and definitions come from — e.g., parents, school, popular movies, magazines. After watching the film, re-visit this list and talk together about how being female is defined for each of the girls in the film. Who defines it? Do they think any of the girls in the film are frustrated by trying to be “good” girls or feminine in a particular way? Can the girls in your discussion group come up with some new definitions of what it means to be a “perfect” girl or feminine? What kinds of things might they do to support each other when they see a girl being pressured to act in a feminine way that is uncomfortable for her or that limits her?

Prepared in the spirit of coalition-building by Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D, Associate Professor of Education and Human Development, and Chair of Women’s Studies, Colby College, and Sarah Susannah Willie, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology & Chair of Black Studies, Swarthmore College.

© 2001 American Documentary Inc. and Lyn Mikel Brown and Sarah Susanah Willie 5 Using Media to Mobilize Your Community girls for the Broadcast of 5 GIRLS The media, whether print, TV, or radio, always needs a reason — a “hook” — to do community a story. 5 GIRLS, a film that follows the lives of five strong, diverse young women engagement from Chicago, is a perfect hook to get reporters to focus on girls and young women campaign in your community. You need to let them know about the film’s broadcast and help them find the local facts and stories about girls and young women in your area and the organizations that serve and advocate on behalf of them.

When talking with the media, it is important to limit your message to a few, simple points to increase the chance of getting your message publicized. Here are some points about the film you can use:

• 5 GIRLS presents a unique window into real experiences of diverse adolescent girls, whose stories are rarely captured in the mainstream media.

Fact: According to a report from Children Now, television doesn’t provide enough quality role models for girls. When asked to name the person they admire most on television, 7 out of 10 girls’ top choices were male.

• 5 GIRLS focuses on the strengths of girls and young women and shows adolescent girls using available resources to make decisions.

Fact: Some of the qualities that kids associate with female television characters include worrying about their appearance or weight, crying or whining, weakness, flirting, and relying on someone else to solve their problems (“Reflections of Girls in the Media,” Children Now).

We can all use the hook of the broadcast and its messages to grab the interest of the media. The goal is to have your local newspaper, television, and radio stations do stories on girls and young women that: • Encourage the public to focus attention on the strengths of girls and young women in your community. • Inform the community about resources for girls and their parents. • Urge parents and the community at large to play a more active role in helping girls become strong young women.

Attached are some tips on how to use P.O.V.’s television broadcast of 5 GIRLS to get the media to do a story. If you get one reporter interested, if you get one story done about girls, you will have succeeded. Somewhere, someone is going to read that newspaper story or hear that radio interview or see that minute on TV news and decide to mentor a girl, get involved with your organization, focus more on their own daughter’s strengths, seek out a program or service, or tell her own story to her Activeparents, Voice teacher, or friends. 2601 Mariposa Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415.553.2841 [email protected]

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation Tips on Getting the Media Interested in 5 GIRLS and Your Local Efforts

1. Know the exact air date of 5 GIRLS Contact your local public television stations to find out the date and time of the broadcast in your region.

2. Get reporters interested in the film Find out which journalists in your region cover issues related to youth, and youth or girl-serving organizations. Call your local newspaper, radio, and TV stations and ask them who covers these issues: Girls (8-12) and young women (13-18) Youth Family issues Human services Community/nonprofit organizations

Once you have the name of the reporters and TV/radio producers or a list of print, radio, and TV outlets that you would like to contact, fax your list to P.O.V.’s Communications Director, Cynthia López, at (212) 727-9683. (See enclosed fax template.) This is to ensure that you are not duplicating the efforts of the 5 GIRLS national media team. P.O.V. will respond within 48 hours, and will let you know which contacts you should go ahead with (P.O.V. will not be pitching stories to very many local media outlets, so in many cases you will be told you can pursue all of the contacts on your list).

After hearing back from P.O.V., you may call the reporters and TV/radio producers directly, or send them a letter (see the attached Sample Letter to Journalists/Producers; feel free to adapt and personalize it). If they want to preview a cassette, fill out the attached Blue Sheet with the relevant information and fax it to Cynthia López. Once you have sent the letter to a reporter or TV/radio producer and ordered a tape, follow up with a phone call. Let them know why a story on girls and young women is so important and share your local angle (see #3).

Do not contact television critics or arts and leisure feature editors – P.O.V. will do this throughout the country. And it is a good idea to let your local public television station know that you are encouraging “non-TV-page” press coverage.

3. Use letters of endorsement from individuals or organizations Ask prominent organizations or individuals to attend your “sneak preview” screening of the film and to endorse it and your efforts to bring greater visibility to girls and young women. The best letter of endorsement comes from the heart and reflects the unique reaction and perspective of the organization or individual. See the attached Sample Letter of Endorsement. You may want to use it to give your endorser some ideas about what they might want to say.

Include these letters when you correspond with the media. They can make the media pay more attention to the film. Reporters and TV/radio producers can also interview the endorser directly about girls and young women and your specific local issues. ➙

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation 4. Look for or create local stories Use the broadcast as an opportunity to have the media interview girls and young women who participate in a program at your organization or attend your school. All over the country, people will be hearing about the five young women who appear in the film. Make sure the people in your city know what is happening at home. Have local girls and young women share their stories. How do they relate or not relate to the girls in the film? How would they describe their experiences with family, school, peers, and community? What are the issues that concern them most as girls and young women? Look for interesting human-interest angles and let reporters and TV/radio producers know about them.

5. Send out a press release Try to do the work above in advance of the broadcast date. If you do nothing else, fax or mail out a press release the week before the film is broadcast in your city. (See attached Sample Press Release.) That may generate interest in the film and bring reporters and TV/radio producers to you.

6. Submit opinion pieces to your newspaper Write an opinion piece for your local newspaper that talks about your reaction to the film, why it’s important for people to watch it, what makes it special and unique. Or ask a girl or young woman to write her own story (make sure to get her parents’ or guardians’ permission). Ask the editor of the opinion page to run the piece on the day before or the day of the broadcast in your city.

7. Conduct a mailing Visit P.O.V.’s pressroom at www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom to view and download a print PSA. Draft a letter to community-based organizations in your area to encourage them to place this print public service announcement (PSA) in their newsletter or on their Web site.

8. Host a press conference Connect the film to something newsworthy in your organization. Issue a press release or use P.O.V.’s press release (see www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom). Invite media representatives to view clips of the film and learn about, for example, a newly released report from your organization or a new initiative you are leading that is focused on girls.

9. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper Once the film is shown on TV or reviewed in the paper, write and tell the editor what you thought. You want to get the letter printed, so look at letters that appear in that paper and tailor yours to the space requirements. Usually, it is wise to make the letter short (3-5 paragraphs), specific, and strong. Focus on how the film highlighted issues that girls and young women face in your community.

Remember that these are just suggestions—you should not feel that you need to do all nine. Even taking on three of these tasks is great and will help you get your message out.

MEMORANDUM VIA FAX

[Organizations: Please submit the list of local print, radio, and TV outlets you would like to contact about the 5 GIRLS broadcast and local activity before you contact them yourself to avoid duplicating efforts with the national media team.]

TO:Cynthia López FROM: FAX: (212) 727-9683 (name, title, organization) PHONE: (212) 989-7425 FAX: DATE: PHONE:

Local activity for 5 GIRLS (describe):

Print, TV, and Radio Outlets I would like to contact:

Outlet name Reporter/Producer Phone or e-mail Pitching strategy/angle name, title

[P.O.V. will respond within 48 hours and let you know which contacts you should pursue. You then may send each contact a packet containing a letter to the journalist, a letter of endorsement, and a press release.] Sample Letter of Endorsement

[Date]

To Whom It May Concern:

With this letter I express my strong endorsement for 5 GIRLS and the local activities being undertaken by [name of your organization] to maximize the film’s broadcast on P.O.V./PBS and draw more attention to girls and young women in [your city or region] and the organizations that serve them.

Unfortunately, so many stories today fixate on the problems that many adolescent girls experience, and lose sight of the natural traits that girls possess to overcome barriers to their success and healthy development. 5 GIRLS presents a fresh, positive outlook on female adolescence and serves as an opportunity to highlight those individuals and organizations that consider girls’ and young women’s strengths and not their deficiencies when engaging in problem-solving related to youth.

Although many girl-serving organizations such as [name of your organization] use this “asset” approach to working with girls, too many girls and parents are unaware of the resources that exist for girls to develop their untapped strengths. The 5 GIRLS broadcast has the potential to reach thousands in [your city or region] and connect them to the programs and services that will most benefit and serve to empower girls.

I hope you can support the work of [your organization] to publicize the “strength and resiliency” message of 5 GIRLS and get resources and information into the hands of parents, girls, and other concerned citizens.

Sincerely,

[Signature of president of the organization or other key stakeholder] Sample Letter to Journalists/Producers (for broadcast-related activities)

[NOTE: This is a general outline. You will want to tailor the letter to your locale, and, if you know the journalist or TV/radio producer to whom you are writing, include stories or issues that are of particular interest to that person. Please note that only P.O.V. can send cassettes to receptive journalists and producers; if you receive a request, please fax a completed Blue Sheet to Cynthia López at (212) 727-9683 immediately.]

[date]

Journalist/Producer Your Local Paper/Television/Radio Station Address 1 Address 2

Dear Journalist/Producer:

5 GIRLS captures the tumultuous days of adolescence for five American girls whose inherent strengths emerge, even in the face of adversity. Produced by Kartemquin Films, the company behind the celebrated film HOOP DREAMS, 5 GIRLS is a rare verité glimpse into the hearts and minds of five teenage girls. P.O.V., public television’s groundbreaking showcase of independent, non-fiction films, will air the film on [local airdate].

The broadcast presents a unique opportunity to focus attention on the strengths and needs of adolescent girls, whose voices and stories are often absent from public dialogue. To maximize the impact of this event in [name of city or region], [name of organization] is working with [name other groups such as local public television station, other girl-serving organizations] on a number of activities before, during, and after the broadcast of 5 GIRLS. They include [name two or three of the most interesting activities].

Shot over three years in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, 5 GIRLS tracks the struggles and transformations that come into the lives of Aisha, Amber, Corrie, Haibinh, and Toby as they confront the challenges of growing up female in America. While revealing differences in race and class that provide distinct twists to each of their stories, 5 GIRLS also discovers what these young women have in common — resilience, self-awareness, and a determination to be themselves.

Many of the themes in 5 GIRLS ring true among girls and young women in [your city or region]. [Pick one of the following examples or create your own, and tailor to specific local issues.] Like many new immigrant youth in [your city or region], 5 GIRLS’ Haibinh, who emigrated to the United States when she was 10 years old, struggles with the conflicting demands of holding on to her Vietnamese heritage while trying to fit in to American culture. Amber, who is jumping through the many hoops to get into college, benefits greatly from the encouragement of a mentor. Many girls in [your city or region] could similarly benefit from having a supportive adult play an active role in their lives. ➙ We believe that the stories portrayed in the film will resonate with many of your readers/viewers, and will motivate them to seek out needed services or resources, play a stronger role in raising strong daughters, or participate in community problem-solving on issues facing girls and young women in [your city or region]. We invite you to join us in this local and national effort to focus attention on girls and young women — and what they need to thrive.

If you would like to screen 5 GIRLS, learn more about our activities surrounding the broadcast of the film, and bring greater attention and resources to girls and young women and the organizations that serve them, please contact me at [your telephone number] or [your email address].

Sincerely,

[leader or communications person for organization] Sample Press Release (for broadcast-related activities)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [Organization contact] [Phone number and e-mail address]

P.O.V.’s 5 GIRLS REVEALS PAINS AND JOYS OF ADOLESCENCE FOR DIVERSE GROUP OF TEENS PBS/P.O.V. broadcast will be used to mobilize communities to focus attention on girls and young women.

P.O.V.’s fall special, 5 GIRLS, captures the tumultuous days of adolescence for five American girls whose inherent strengths emerge, even in the face of adversity. [Name of organization] is joining scores of national and community organizations around the country to focus public attention on the strength and resiliency of all girls and young women and what they need to thrive.

In order to maximize the impact of the broadcast on [give local airdate], these organizations are working in partnership with Active Voice, a media agency that uses films as tools for community building and civic engagement, and P.O.V., public television’s groundbreaking showcase of independent, nonfiction films.

Produced by Kartemquin Films, the company behind the celebrated film HOOP DREAMS, 5 GIRLS is a rare verité glimpse into the hearts and minds of five teenage girls. “Often when you see movies about young girls, you see how they are failing,” says director/co-producer Maria Finitzo. “But this is a film about five girls who face the challenges of adolescence with strength and resilience.”

“The specific needs of girls are frequently overlooked in schools and programs under the umbrella of ‘youth,’ ” says [key leader or educator for your organization]. “And the negative messages that society sends to girls often make them lose sight of their strong qualities and talents. We need to change that message, and 5 GIRLS can help to do that.”

[Name of organization] is working with [name other groups such as local public television station, other girl-serving organizations] on a number of activities before, during, and after the broadcast of 5 GIRLS. They include [name 2-3 of the most interesting activities].

Corrie, intellectual and openly bisexual, from Chicago’s upper middle-class North Shore, struggles to connect with her Christian father since revealing her sexuality to him. Amber is an honor roll junior on Chicago’s South Side, a world apart from Corrie’s world. Not only must she deal with society’s misconceptions of her, based on her race and class, but also the challenges that come when she is forced to live on her own. ➙ Aisha is a high-achieving black teen in a Catholic girls’ school, a basketball star who fights to stand her ground in the face of a loving but overprotective and demanding father. Haibinh came to the United States from Vietnam when she was 10 years old. A high school sophomore who excels in school and is a community leader, she struggles with the conflicting demands of holding on to her Vietnamese heritage while fitting into American culture. Toby is the irrepressible 12-year-old daughter of doctors who manages to go her own way despite the impressive collective wisdom of her parents.

Each of the film’s subjects confronts the losses and gains that come from making adult decisions, and each finds herself eager, if not always totally ready, to discover her adult identity. Sharply detailed and emotionally revealing, 5 GIRLS shows teen girls to be both smarter and more determined to grow up on their own terms than they are often given credit for in mainstream media.

“This film is an important contribution to the national consciousness about adolescent girls because it breaks the stereotype. Unlike so many media portrayals, my work with girls has shown me that they have the skills and strengths necessary to navigate the sometimes rocky waters of adolescence,” said President of the American Psychological Association Dr. Norine Johnson. 5 GIRL Credits

MARIA FINITZO Director/Co-Producer

Maria Finitzo’s work as an independent documentary director and producer has taken her from Russia to the Galapagos Islands to Antarctica exploring subjects as diverse as nuclear weapons, whales, and the first African American woman in space. In addition to 5 GIRLS, Finitzo is currently working on two projects in association with Kartemquin Films, ARSENALS, about the technical dangers posed by nuclear weaponry, and A YEAR ON TEEN STREET, a portrait of a teen theater company.

DAVID E. SIMPSON Co-Producer

David Simpson’s production credits include the recent award-winning documentary, HALSTED STREET, USA, and the acclaimed WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD...AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER, which he co-produced and directed with the film’s subject, Billy Golfus. He also has edited and associate-produced numerous public television documentaries, including SKIN DEEP, SHTETL, and NOVA’s Emmy-nominated MYSTERIOUS CRASH OF FLIGHT 201. He was supervising editor on Kartemquin Films’ VIETNAM — LONG TIME COMING and currently is directing REFRIGERATOR MOTHERS for the company.

GORDON QUINN Executive Producer

President and founding member of Kartemquin Films, Gordon Quinn has served as executive producer, producer, director, cameraman and editor on a wide variety documentary, educational and commercial films. He is the Executive Producer of 5 GIRLS and the celebrated film HOOP DREAMS. His full resume covers 35 years of filmmaking. Gordon produced and directed VIETNAM — LONG TIME COMING, the latest in a long line of award-winning documentaries from Kartemquin, with Jerry Blumenthal and Peter Gilbert.

Additonal Credits

Camera: Dana Kupper Associate Producer/Sound: Fennell Doremus Production Management: Karen Larson ➙ 5 GIRLS National Partners

Active Voice, P.O.V., and Kartemquin Films are proud to be partnering with the following organizations in support of the 5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign to raise awareness and foster dialogue and problem-solving around the issues facing young women today.

American Psychological Association www.apa.org The American Psychological Association, through many of its 152,000 members, provides services to adolescents and their families. The Association’s Task Force on Adolescent Girls brought together the country’s top experts on issues facing girls and has focused on girls’ strength and resiliency. The APA Task Force provided content assistance to filmmaker Maria Finitzo during the making of 5 GIRLS.

Dads and Daughters www.dadsanddaughters.org Dads and Daughters is the national education and advocacy nonprofit for fathers and daughters. DADs provides tools to strengthen father-daughter relationships and to transform the pervasive cultural messages that value daughters more for how they look than for who they are.

National Association for Commissions on Women www.nacw.org The National Association for Commissions on Women, a nonpartisan, membership organization of government-sponsored (state, county and local) commissions for women in the United States, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, facilitates communication and cooperation on issues affecting women and their families and provides national advocacy for commissions for women and the millions of women they serve.

National Coalition of Girls’ Schools www.ncgs.org The National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, founded in 1991 to advocate equal and every educational opportunity for girls, represent 98 public and private girls’ schools in this country and affiliate girls’ schools organizations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

Women’s Funding Network www.wfnet.org The Women’s Funding Network, founded in 1985, is a partnership of 70 women and girls’ funds which, in association with over 20 other philanthropic organizations, are committed to changing society by improving the status of women and girls locally, nationally, and internationally. WFN members are public and private women and girls’ foundations, and funds in community foundations and Jewish federations.

Funding for the 5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign has been provided by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and, for support of activities that serve girls in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation. Sample Letter to the Editor

[Note: Some version of this letter can be sent before the broadcast if it is linked to a local issue concerning girls and young women. It should definitely be sent after the broadcast.]

[date]

The Editor Your Local Paper Address 1 Address 2

Dear Editor:

Finally, there is a film that shows girls as heroines, not as victims, as active agents in charting their course to adulthood and navigating the multiple challenges of adolescence. Kartemquin Film’s 5 GIRLS, which P.O.V. broadcast on [give airdate and date of paper’s review or article on it, if they did one], provided a unique window into the real-life experiences of five adolescent girls from Chicago who all emerge as strong and resilient.

In watching the film, which followed the girls over three years, I was struck by the honest and often raw portrayal of the girls’ relationships with the adults in their lives, and how adults’ even well-intended influence helped or hindered the girls’ development. The film also contained an undercurrent about race and class, and how racial and economic differences continue to play a role in how girls and young women experience the world and make choices about their future. Nonetheless, each girl finds the resources she needs to “succeed,” whether success means going to college, staying true to her cultural or sexual identity even as others try to submerge it, or making a decision that her parents would never have encouraged her to make.

I hope that after having seen 5 GIRLS, more parents and girls will tap into the many programs and resources in [your city or region] that serve to benefit girls. I also hope that the film will open up important dialogue between parents and daughters.

5 GIRLS serves as a reminder to all of us of the inherent strength and resiliency of girls, something we should all remember when we interact with girls, whether we are parents, educators, service providers, advocates, or just caring citizens.

Sincerely,

[Leader of your organization] [Title] [bccP.O.V.] 5 What You Can Do in Your Community girls Below are suggestions for activities that your organization can do in connection with the broadcast and distribution of 5 GIRLS. The activities employ different strategies, community depending on your goal in using the film, and all target a range of organizations and engagement individuals concerned about girls: girls’ programs, schools, agencies serving families campaign and youth, mentoring organizations, churches and faith-based groups, public television stations, foundations and women’s funds, women’s commissions, professional associ ations, and more. Note: The tools listed in each section all are contained in this kit.

There are three categories in which you may choose to use the film: • Sneak preview (pre-broadcast) • Broadcast • Post-broadcast If you plan to take advantage of the pre-broadcast buzz, your local effort should begin with a call to your local public television station. To use 5 GIRLS beyond the P.O.V./PBS broadcast, please refer to “Post-Broadcast” below.

• Sneak Preview To organize a “sneak preview” screening in advance of the 5 GIRLS broadcast, begin by calling the Public Information department of your local public television station and asking for the exact air date of the P.O.V. fall special #AMDO1410 — 5 GIRLS. If the station has scheduled the film, let them know that there is community support for promoting the broadcast. (You also may want to find out if the station is organizing community events and how to get involved.) You then may obtain a VHS copy of 5 GIRLS for pre-screening, promotional use by contacting Active Voice at (415) 553-2841 or [email protected].

However, not all public television stations carry the P.O.V. series, and those that don’t will not be able to broadcast this particular program. Others may not have decided whether they will schedule it or when. If this is the case, offer your organization’s support if they choose to air 5 GIRLS in the future, but we ask that you not put any direct pressure on the station.

Even without a local broadcast, you still may be able to participate and use 5 GIRLS to galvanize your community on issues facing girls and young women. Please contact Active Voice at (415) 553-2841 to discuss possible strategies.

Using an Excerpt of 5 GIRLS For groups that do not have time to show the film in its entirety — 1 hours, 53 minutes — we recommend that you show the opening segment of the film (about 27 minutes long). Start the film from the beginning and stop the tape at the end of the scene in which Amber is getting ready for her homecoming dance. If you are interested in using other excerpts of the film at your event, contact Active Voice and we will try to help you make selections that support the goals of the event.

Active Voice ➙

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation • Broadcast Once you know the local air date of 5 GIRLS, you might choose to focus your efforts on getting people to tune in to the broadcast. You also might invite colleagues and friends to your home (or agency, church, or community center — any community space where there is a television available) to watch the broadcast. In addition, K-12 educators have permission to tape the film and use it in the classroom for up to one year after the broadcast. (Note: The 5 GIRLS Web site will include lesson plans developed by P.O.V. in association with PBS TeacherSource. Visit www.pbs.org/pov/5girls.)

• Post-broadcast Even after the broadcast, 5 GIRLS can be used as an effective tool for your organization or program. To purchase a copy of the film for ongoing educational or community screenings, contact: Women Make Movies Web site: wmm.com E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 212-925-0606 ext. 360 Fax: 212-925-2052 After you have ordered the film, it’s time to plan your local efforts.

How You Can Use 5 Girls as a Tool to: • Encourage Intergenerational Dialogue Who: Girls’ programs, schools, agencies serving families and youth, mentoring organizations, churches and faith-based groups, public television stations Tools: • “Thinking Through Differences: A 5 GIRLS Discussion Guide” • “Girls Talking About 5 GIRLS: A Guide for Girl- and Young Women-Led Discussions” • Questions and Activities for Dads with Daughters • Staying Connected: A Guide for Parents on Raising an Adolescent Daughter “Delve Deeper” • Sample 5 GIRLS Survey • Using 5 GIRLS Strategically: WORKSHEET

Activity formats: • Organize a community screening of 5 GIRLS that targets girls and their parents. Bring in facilitators to lead a post-screening discussion and/or invite local experts to comprise a panel focused on parenting and adolescent girls. Depending on your goal, you may want to divide girls and adults into separate groups so that each has a safe space to discuss the issues that the film raises for them. • Host a mother-daughter or father-daughter potluck/brunch and screening of 5 GIRLS at your agency. • Host an information session for parents of the girls who use your services. Invite a local expert (psychologist, researcher, etc.) to talk about how parents can play a supportive role in raising strong young women. • Invite mentors and their mentees (e.g. Big Sisters and their Little Sisters) to screen the film. Serve refreshments and make it a fun event, with opportunity for informal conversation after the film. ➙

Funded by the Three Guineas Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation • Organize a post-broadcast reading group. Choose a book on the “Delve Deeper” list. Invite adults and young women to read the book and come to a meeting to discuss it. Invite the group to choose the next month’s book. This can be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue.

• Promote Girl’s Expression and Leadership Who: Girls’ programs, schools, other organizations that serve girls Tools: • “Girls Talking About 5 GIRLS: A Guide for Girl- and Young Women-Led Discussions” • “Thinking Through Differences: A 5 GIRLS Discussion Guide” • Networks and Resources • Sample 5 GIRLS Survey • Using 5 GIRLS Strategically: WORKSHEET

Activity formats: • Build girls’ leadership skills. Bring in a trainer who can teach public speaking and facilitation skills to girls. After this “training for trainers,” set a time for the young women trainers to screen 5 GIRLS and facilitate a discussion with other girls in the program. The discussion might include the formulation of action steps for how the community could better serve girls, and the selection of a group-led project to benefit girls in the community. • Encourage girls to speak out. Screen 5 GIRLS in a girls’ program, town hall meeting, or other community setting. Identify girl and young women facilitators and speakers to respond to the issues raised in the film and relate the film’s themes to their own lives. (See “intergenerational dialogue” section above.) • Create a girls’ art festival. Use the film to inspire girls to tell their own stories through writing, visual art, videos, etc. Display the girls’ artwork at your agency, local museum or library, or publish it on your Web site or in your newsletter.

• Strengthen Programs, Services, and Advocacy for Girls Who: Girls’ programs, foundations, women’s commissions Tools: • Networks and Resources • “Thinking Through Differences: A 5 GIRLS Discussion Guide” • Sample 5 GIRLS Survey • Suggested Models: Building or Expanding a Girls’ Coalition • Worksheet: Using 5 GIRLS Strategically

Activity formats: •Host a Girls Summit. Convene adult practitioners, girls’ advocates, and girls themselves to participate in a daylong strategy session. Begin the day with a sneak preview screening of the film and follow with discussion on issues facing girls in the community and the formulation of action steps (e.g. building a girls’ coalition, conducting a community-wide needs assessment, advocating for more public funds for after-school programs, etc.). Develop and distribute a draft of your activities plan based on the session. ➙ • Forge community partnerships, build coalitions, and expand existing ones. Expand your organization’s impact: Use 5 GIRLS as a catalyst to draw in other organizations such as girls’ programs, coed programs, community centers, researchers, and faith-based groups. • Brainstorm the challenges facing girl-serving organizations and strategize about the role a coalition might play in advocating on behalf of girls and young women, coordinating services, staff development, etc. (See “Suggested Models: Building or Expanding a Girls’ Coalition.) • Link 5 GIRLS to fundraising and girls’ philanthropy. Convene donors and foundation representatives to screen the film. Distribute and share findings from Improving Philanthropy for Girls’ Programs, a new report from the Three Guineas Fund, and brainstorm ways that foundations and individual donors can best contribute to organizations serving girls and young women. (To download a copy of the report, go to http://www.3gf.org/links.html.) • Shape policies for girls and young women. Host a screening of 5 GIRLS for elected officials — perhaps in collaboration with your local women’s commission — followed by a public meeting focused on how local government could better serve the needs of girls and young women. The meeting could include testimony from girls about how the city or county can better address their concerns. • Staff development and volunteer training (for agencies). Use 5 GIRLS as a training tool for staff, boards, and volunteers. After showing the film, facilitate activities using the “Thinking Through Differences: A 5 GIRLS Discussion Guide.” Conclude by imparting best practices and guidelines for working with girls who participate in your programs. • Build capacity of girl-serving organizations (for funders). Convene your girl-serving grantees for a full day of workshops. Open the day by showing the film and giving grantees an opportunity to relate issues in the film to successes and challenges they face in their own work. In the afternoon, bring in nonprofit consultants to lead sessions on fiscal management, fund development, strategic planning — pre-identified topics that will help your girl-serving grantees strengthen their programs for girls.

In Addition, Don’t Forget to:

Publicize your message • Announce the broadcast of the film in your newsletter, listservs, Web site, and informational fliers. Encourage other community-based organizations to promote the film through their communications networks. Visit www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom to download a print PSA to include in your own materials or to distribute to other organizations. • Disseminate information about programs, services, and resources for girls and their parents (perhaps in the form of a local resource guide) in conjunction with the film’s broadcast. • Develop a media plan to highlight your work on behalf of girls and young women. A guide to using the media to mobilize your community for the broadcast of 5 GIRLS is included in the 5 GIRLS Action Kit. ➙ Follow up • Create a mechanism for follow-through on your action plans by assigning tasks to different individuals, setting a next meeting date, sending out contact information for those attending your event, establishing a listserv (as well as a listserv guru), etc. • Plan a follow up activity, such as a policy day focused on issues facing girls and young women, or a community fair featuring girls’ programs, artwork, speakers, and activities. • Build a Web site with other agencies in your emerging coalition. Make it a clearinghouse for services and programs available in your area.

Use all available resources in this packet and in your community. If you need assistance, please call the Active Voice office at (415) 553-2841. Suggested Models: Building or Expanding a Girls’ Coalition

Local Action, National Impact: Leveraging Existing Tools to Build Coalitions Girls’ coalitions — formal or informal networks of practitioners, funders, researchers, policy makers, and others who care about girls — are popping up around the country. A quick review of some existing networks shows the following roles a girls’ coalition can play: • Information clearinghouse (via Web site, newsletter, library, phone referral) • Context for networking and professional development among adults who work with or on behalf of girls and young women • Conduit for communication (through regular meetings, events, listservs, newsletters) • Space for exchanging information and educating members about best practices, current research, national and local trends • Advocacy vehicle and forum for organizing around public policy and issues facing girls and young women

Of course, each community is different and each coalition will ultimately reflect the community it serves. The following models suggest some basic steps you can take and tools you can use to establish or grow a coalition. To get started, select the model(s) most appropriate to your current needs, and then on the following page begin sketching out the steps you’ll want to take to move forward. Check “Networks and Resources” in this kit for information on how to obtain the tools referenced below.

Model A: Insiders’ Conversation • Host a screening of 5 GIRLS with colleagues from other girls’ programs and local funders and have an initial dialogue about starting a girls’ coalition — what are the needs, what resources would be needed, how would it be structured, etc. • Funders: Convene other local funders; screen excerpts from 5 GIRLS; share findings from the Three Guineas Fund’s report, Improving Philanthropy for Girls’ Programs; discuss how to better serve the needs of girls’ programs, and how a girls’ coalition might play a role in addressing these needs.

Model B: Broadening Your Base • Host a community screening of 5 GIRLS with a target audience of girls, parents, practitioners from girls’ programs, and girls’ advocates, followed by a discussion on local needs and the potential role of a girls’ coalition in your community. • Convene current or potential donors to view 5 GIRLS and present the idea of a girls’ coalition to them. Ask how they might like to be involved.

➙ Model C: Transforming Communities After taking some of the steps listed in Models A and B, roll out a coalition-wide activity that is consistent with your coalition’s mission: • Organize a public hearing focused on girls’ needs, thoughts, and ideas. Share the findings of the hearing publicly and especially with legislators. • Host a professional development seminar for girls’ program practitioners based on the findings of the hearings and the Three Guineas Fund’s report, Improving Philanthropy for Girls’ Programs. • Invite coalition members to a networking reception. Ask members to bring literature from their program for the resource table.

Active Voice would like to thank Katie Wheeler, Director of the Girls’ Coalition of Greater Boston, and Shireen Lee, primary researcher of the Three Guineas Fund’s Improving Philanthropy for Girls’ Programs, for developing the core ideas of this document and for offering their coalition-building and philanthropic wisdom to the 5 GIRLS Community Engagement Campaign.

Goals – What you hope to accomplish by working with 5 GIRLS: 1.

Tactics – Describe your activity:

Who – Who are you targeting? Other girls’ programs? Potential donors? Policy makers? Academics from the local university? All of the above?

When, Where, etc. – Date, place, and other logistical details

Organizing Tasks and Timeline: Task Description Point Person/Organization Date/Deadline

Task Description Point Person/Oraganization Date/Dateline

➙ Worksheet: Using 5 GIRLS Strategically

Goals – What you hope to accomplish by working with 5 GIRLS: 1.

Tactics – Describe your activity:

Who – Who are you targeting? Other girls’ programs? Potential donors? Policy makers? Academics from the local university? All of the above?

When, Where, etc. – Date, place, and other logistical details

Organizing Tasks and timeline: Task Description Point Person/Organization Date/Deadline

Task Description Point Person/Oraganization Date/Dateline Sample: 5 GIRLS Survey (distribute and collect at your event)

Name: Age (optional):

Organization (optional):

Phone: E-mail:

Address (street, city, state, zip):

I am a: (check as many as apply): parent girl young woman ? service provider/practitioner educator mentor to a girl funder ? researcher Other:

The greatest issue facing girls and young women in [name of your city or region] is:

For adults only: I would like to be more involved in the Girls’ Coalition of [name of your city or region].

I am interested in: Volunteering in the office Working on policy advocacy for girls and young women Contributing to the newsletter Web development

I would like to be added to the Girls’ Coalition mailing list.

I would like to be added to the Girls’ Coalition listserv.

For girls and young women only: I would like more information on programs for girls and young women my age.

I am interested in programs for girls and young women that focus on the following (check as many as you want): Sports Pair girls with a mentor Help girls with academics and homework ➙ Teach girls about science, math, and technology Leadership activities Human rights and advocacy Government and politics

I might be interested in joining a Girls’ Advisory Board if one were formed.

Additional comments/questions:

Thank you for attending our event!