news
Log in [?]

5 Girls

By
Posted on January 30, 2003

Igniting Emotions and Social Change

Good filmmaking ignites emotions, but it takes more than emotions to foster social change. Maria Finitzo's 5 Girls ( http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2001/5girls) and the advocacy campaign built around it shows how outreach and documentary production go together to increase a film's impact. 5 Girls documents the lives of five very different young women in the Chicago area. The protagonists are remarkably resilient in how they cope with crushing poverty, the strains of immigration and the day-to-day stress of just being teenagers. Each of the characters is caught in a classic immigrant bind -- Each must develop the traits necessary for strong leadership in this country while trying to stay true to the traditional roles of femininity they adhered to in the countries they left behind.

Active Voice and Community Action

Active Voice, a non-profit which creates campaigns for producers, broadcasters and foundations, began researching potential community partners for 5 Girls in December of 2000. The campaign recently concluded. A boost for the promotion of the film included its selection for a Fall 2001 Point of View (POV) broadcast on PBS, consequently, a full-time media team helped to place key publicity. Through the High Impact Television team at PBS' showcase, 8-10 public television stations received mini-grants to stimulate local interest by hosting 5 Girl events.

Early on, representatives from girls' service providers convened for what Active Voice calls a "brain trust," which included: funders, researchers of girls' issues and media experts in San Francisco, Chicago, Denver and Boston. After viewing the film they discussed how it could be used and by whom. "We learned from our 'brain trust' process that organizations serving girls are often competing with each other for limited resources," said Ellen Schneider, Executive Director of Active Voice. It soon became clear that helping organizations forge alliances with like-minded groups was a major concern of groups advocating for young women. Along with promoting modes of developing "girl" leadership, coalition-building became a major thread of the Active Voice campaign.

Even before cameras began to roll, the filmmakers enlisted the support of the American Psychological Association (APA) whose Task Force on Adolescent Girls recommended criteria for selecting the five film subjects. After the film was complete and during the early stages of the campaign, the then president of the APA, Dr. Norine Johnson, a Boston-based expert on adolescent girls, joined with the Girls Coalition of Greater Boston, and representatives from WGBH, to identify goals and strategies. In these early months the Boston collaboration expanded to include Girls Incorporated of Lynn, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, Teen Voices, and the Massachusetts Psychological Association. Screenings, panel discussions, a local resource brochure, and a strategic media plan publicized the film and its upcoming broadcast, as well as highlighted the work each local partner organization was accomplishing in its own work with girls. Through similar coalition-building, activities occurred in San Francisco, Chicago and Denver.

On another front, Active Voice recruited national organizations. The Women's Funding Network brought a philanthropic focus to the 5 Girls community engagement campaign by solidifying contact with women's funds in several cities. Dads and Daughters, a national education organization dedicated to supporting men who advocate on behalf of their daughters (and, in turn, all girls and young women) assisted the 5 Girls project to connect with men and boys seeking resources and opportunities for dialogue about gender issues. The National Association for Commissions on Women signed on as a national partner, offering a policy dimension to the campaign. And through dissemination of materials and media efforts, The National Coalition of Girls' Schools helped expose parents, schools, and young women to the stories in 5 Girls and the issues raised by the film.

With the participation from girls' groups and many girls themselves, Active Voice designed a community action kit. It contains discussion guides for girls and just about anyone who comes in contact with them, from parents to fathers to program staff in service agencies. "Using Media to Mobilize Your Community" is included to help grassroots organization develop media campaigns, listing media tips and sample press releases. So many girls advocates expressed an interest in what other groups were doing, Active Voice included a how-to-build a coalition section based on the Girls' Coalition of Greater Boston's model. Representatives from non profit and philanthropic organizations listed steps for building coalitions and formulating actions to shape public policy. Through scores of meetings and discussions, agencies from around the country began to chart their work in relation to other groups and ask how services for girls could be improved.

As a consequence of its work with Active Voice, the 5 Girls documentary became the focal point in an effort not only to build its audience, but to convene a broad sector of non-profit groups who were able to map their community assets, develop media literacy skills, and pinpoint common issues in order to approach local policy makers and funders. "We are still getting calls about the film and the accompanying community actions kits," Schneider said, noting that the demand for the kits was much higher than anticipated and that they are now being photocopied. The film has been used as a catalyst for coalition-building from Seattle to Maine and from Chicago to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Read more about Televison Race Initiative and Active Voice outreach campaigns: Television Race Initiative and Active Voice