Grrls make movies: the emergence of women-led filmmaking initiatives for teenage girls

Afterimage, Nov-Dec, 2005 by Kathleen Sweeney

No doubt as a response to their extensive programming as toddlers, the Reel Grrls team produces a spoof of Barbie every year. The Barbie videos are some of the funniest and most on-target projects to come out of Reel Grrls, along with self-portraiture and pieces on gender identity and sexual orientation. Through collaboration with Seattle's 911 Media Arts Center, they have hosted stop animation and clay animation workshops. If Men Menstruated (2003) features GI Joes and World Wrestling Entertainment dolls discussing the performance-enhancing merits of their "cycle." The breakthrough quality of these animations lies in the outrageous, often deadpan delivery of decidedly feminist messages, which could otherwise be Miss Manners dogmatic. While feminism is definitely part of the staff's agenda, Graham has "learned from our girls that fighting for feminism seems irrelevant to them because they believe that the feminist movement is no longer needed. While from my perspective this can seem naive, it can also be ... refreshing."

The Reel Grrls program, founded in 2001, includes a four-month period of weekly after-school meetings, culminating in an intensive, week-long post-production workshop; it is one of the most comprehensive programs offered in the country. Through partnerships with the Metro-Seattle YWCA and their local PBS affiliate, Reel Grrls has managed to attract a multicultural group of girls to its programs every year.

In addition to the digital skill set, graduates of Reel Grrls come away with a significant video exhibition record that has included showing works at the Gen-Y Youth Conference at the Sundance Film Festival, the Hong Kong Film Festival, the San Diego Girl Film Festival, Women in the Director's Chair, and other venues. The compilation of these impressive credentials is due to Graham's dogged distribution efforts. Their "get the videos out" approach serves as a programming role model to other girls film programs, as does their innovative Web site, which includes updates on Reel Grrls graduates and clips from their reels. Tentsin Tingkhye, a Tibetan political refugee living with a foster family in Seattle, proved to be an editing wizard in Reel Grrls' 2003 program; she is now studying filmmaking at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and served as video mentor to incoming Reel Grrls in 2004 and 2005. In addition to working on her own documentary, she edits projects for nonprofit clients. Inspired by the success of their videos, other Reel Grrls graduates have also become youth advocates, covering issues such as abusive relationships, eating disorders, self-mutilation, and teen homelessness. Reel Grrls have served on panels at film festivals and youth leadership conferences sponsored by the National Organization for Women and other organizations. Jamie Wheeler, a 2001 Reel Grrl now enrolled at the Vancouver Film School in British Columbia, Canada, was featured as an "up-and-coming filmmaker" in Teen People magazine.

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