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.

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