A College Reporter Goes to the NYC Premiere of Girl Rising

            Let me be honest here. When I found out from Her Campus National that I had the opportunity to attend the Girl Rising movie premiere, its after party, and write about it for a site that has been such a priority of mine this semester, I was thrilled. I was obviously already making a list of every celebrity I hoped would be there,  thinking about what I would wear, and what I would say when Leonardo DiCaprio came up to tell me, he’s been in love with me all these years (yes I’m crazy, I know).

To my naivitee, this movie premiere ended up being so much more than just celebrity sightings and pretty shoes. I admit though, there was one starstruck moment; I walked in at the same time as Allison Williams, the beautiful starlet from GIRLS, and when she was asked what she was wearing she replied “Christian Dior, off the runway, head to toe, and Van Cleef jewelry”. Let’s just say I was one jealous college reporter. But that moment aside, as soon as I took my seat, my experience became about something so much larger than the perfect little black dress or diamond earrings.

Girl Rising is a documentary film of 9 girls and 9 stories about the “strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world”. Premiering in theaters all over the country on March 7th, the important film is narrated by some of Hollywood’s biggest names: Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Merly Streep, Liam Neeson, and Kerry Washington to name a few. And its production team is no less spectacular; the film was directed by Academy Award Nominated Director Richard Robbins, and produced in collaboration with Intel Corporation, CNN Films, ABC News’ The Documentary Group, and Vulcan Productions.

The film stems from 10×10, a global campaign to educate and empower girls, and followed 9 girls from third world countries, ranging from India to Ethiopia. Each girl was paired with a renowned writer from her native country to help her tell her story, and with a Hollywood actress to narrate it for the film.

The film’s, and 10×10’s larger goal, is to emphasize the barriers girls face due to their gender: lack of education being the primary one. And interestingly enough, the returns of educating a girl are astronomic, often breaking the cycle of poverty, sex trafficking, forced marriage, domestic slavery, gender violence and discrimination in one generation. The movie follows these young girls as they search for justice and for their right to take a seat in the classroom, taking viewers on an often difficult and emotional journey. At the pre-talk of the premiere, Producer Holly Gordon described Robbins’ work of intertwining deep and thoughtful narrative with facts and figures as a “triumph of the imagination”, praising his ability to “convert storytelling into impact and create meaningful change”.

Last semester, I studied abroad in a very poor village in northeast India, and the poverty was something I came into contact with every single day, but felt very alienated from—as if it didn’t have anything to do with me. As I watched Girl Rising, I understood that the value of my education is no more or no less important than that of every girl I met in India, and all 9 girls in the film. I felt overwhelmed with a sense of connection and collective responsibility, and I found myself, popcorn in hand, sitting at the edge of my seat, as if I was going to jump into the screen right there.  

Her Campus will be hosting a screening of this very important film on Barnard’s Campus sometime in mid-April. More details to follow. Please visit girlrising.com and contact us at lianagergely@hercampus.com if you want to be involved in planning the screening.